The Effectiveness of a Centering Meditation Intervention on College Stress and Mindfulness: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Mental health concerns are climbing steadily on college campuses, and universities do not have the staffing and financial resources to address the overwhelming needs of students seeking counseling services. College counselors generally must place students on waitlists or refer them to external resources. Further, during the COVID-19 pandemic, university counselors have been working tirelessly to treat students through online formats. Alternative, online, evidence-based interventions offer college counselors a significant advantage in effectively treating their students. We seek to expand the empirical evidence for mindfulness interventions through online formats for the college population. We registered the study (ISRCTN13587045) at www.isrctn.com.Objective: We examined the effectiveness of a unique online centering meditation and its impact on stress and trait mindfulness in the college population.Methods: Through a randomized controlled trial, the treatment group participated in a 4-week intervention of centering for 10 min each morning and night. We measured stress and mindfulness in both groups through the Perceived Stress Scale and Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised at baseline, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks.Results: The centering meditation treatment had a statistically significant positive impact on stress and mindfulness compared to a waitlist control group. The meditation group had an average of 64% adherence rate.Conclusion: The study findings indicate that individuals who participate in a 4-week online centering intervention showed improved levels of stress and trait mindfulness over time.Clinical Trial Registration: WHO International Clinical Registry Platform, identifier: ISRCTN13587045.

Meta-Analysis of Psychological Interventions for Reducing Stress, Anxiety, and Depression among University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…All incorporated studies assessed the effectiveness of internet-based psychological intervention programs for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression among university students during COVID-19 social distancing. Seven studies were conducted by researchers in American universities [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ], two studies in Asian universities [ 39 , 40 ], and one study in an African university [ 41 ]. Meta-analyses were performed separately on interventions for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression ( Table 1 ).…”

“…The details of the interventions are summarized in Table 1 . The number of sessions varied greatly, ranging from four [ 38 ] to forty [ 33 ]. The average number of sessions of the included mental interventions was 15.3 sessions, while the length of sessions varied between 10 and 90 min.…”

“…All 10 studies mentioned intervention providers (through online formats), which were categorized as follows: Isha Hatha yoga teacher [ 32 ]; college counselor [ 33 ]; instructor [ 34 , 41 ]; expert [ 40 ]; psychologist [ 35 , 39 ]; mindfulness teacher [ 37 ]; multidisciplinary team, including a study member and a mindfulness teacher, for the breathing application [ 36 ]; and a multidisciplinary team, including a psychologist and a mindfulness teacher [ 38 ]. Further, all 10 studies used internet-based/video-based interventions.…”

“… The effects of psychological interventions on reducing stress among university students during COVID-19 in the included randomized controlled trials [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 41 ]. …”

College Students’ Opinions About Coping Strategies for Mental Health Problems, Suicide Ideation, and Self-Harm During COVID-19

“…An online intervention was used to test ( Dorais and Gutierrez, 2021 ) the effectiveness of a 4-week centering meditation treatment, which proved to be successful in improving levels of stress and trait mindfulness in a college population ( Dorais and Gutierrez, 2021 ). A second randomized clinical trial assessed the effectiveness of an 8-week, web-based mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy program in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress (primary outcomes) and increasing mindfulness (secondary outcome) in 160 undergraduate students at a Canadian university.…”