Mindfulness and Wellbeing Among College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis of Emergent Themes and Concerns

Abstract

Emerging adulthood (ages of 18-30 years) is a critical developmental period characterized by mental health challenges, particularly for college students who experience distinct mental health issues. Mindfulness-based approaches have been associated with mental health benefits. This study aimed to assess the mental health and wellbeing of college students with qualitative data obtained via their participation in a mindfulness exercise. We analyzed the sentiments and concerns of college students nearly a year into the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The results led to the development of four major themes: a source code of the COVID-19 pandemic, assessments of mindfulness and wellbeing, emergent concerns, and coping strategies. The findings from this paper can inform combined internal medicine and pediatrics (Med-Peds) providers’ efforts to improve the mental and physical health outcomes among emerging adults.

Students experiences of an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention at a college of opportunity: a qualitative investigation of the mindfulness-based college program

“…The work here not only builds on previous research with the MBC program but offers important findings for a growing body of qualitative inquiry regarding students experience within mindfulness training more broadly. Qualitative explorations of MBPs and health among college students remain understudied and are limited to investigations conducted primarily in specific programs medical, nursing and other health singular academic programs limiting the transferability of results to mixed academic samples [24,[45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. However, some encouraging points should be noted: research has found that students believe mindfulness training enhances individual level resources (i.e., present moment awareness, attention control, self-regulation, self-compassion), increases their ability to balance stress and other academic priorities with purposeful action to enhance well-being (i.e., techniques to cognitively reframe when faced with academic induced anxiety and depression), and increases their self-reported empathy and communication skills in clinical training environments [24,45,48,51,52].…”

“…Qualitative explorations of MBPs and health among college students remain understudied and are limited to investigations conducted primarily in specific programs medical, nursing and other health singular academic programs limiting the transferability of results to mixed academic samples [24,[45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. However, some encouraging points should be noted: research has found that students believe mindfulness training enhances individual level resources (i.e., present moment awareness, attention control, self-regulation, self-compassion), increases their ability to balance stress and other academic priorities with purposeful action to enhance well-being (i.e., techniques to cognitively reframe when faced with academic induced anxiety and depression), and increases their self-reported empathy and communication skills in clinical training environments [24,45,48,51,52]. Additionally, in a 2020 systematic review of qualitative research to investigate students perceptions of MBPs found that across studies (k = 18) the main benefits reported were increased self-awareness, stress management, selfacceptance as well as academic focus while barriers to engagement included a lack of time for meditation outside of the program and uncertainty regarding MBPs impacts on health all of which are conclusions consistent with the findings from this study [23].…”

“…A recent systematic review identified only eighteen comprehensive qualitative investigations despite significant growth in research on MBPs among college students [23]. In addition, few studies have investigated the experiences of students in mindfulness training after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and after social distancing measures were implemented [24].…”

Mindfulness to improve the mental health of university students. A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…These therapies have been shown to be effective in reducing stress, improving mental health, and promoting wellbeing in a variety of contexts, including education ( 21 ). Its application has expanded to non-medical contexts, such as education, where its value is increasingly recognized ( 22 ). However, there has been little research into whether mindfulness can influence perceptions of the educational environment.…”

The influence of benefit finding on academic engagement among Chinese college students: A moderating effect model

“…Emerging adulthood (18–30 years old) is a crucial period of development, characterized by mental health challenges, especially for undergraduates with obvious mental health problems [ 1 ]. While college students are maturing in their physical development, they are accompanied by rapid changes in psychology, unstable and greatly volatile development of emotion, and rich emotion.…”