Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) reduces depressive symptoms in university students by altering brain activity and connectivity. In a randomized controlled trial, 42 healthy students completed an 8-week MBSR program or served as controls. MBSR participants showed greater improvement in depression scores. Brain imaging revealed reduced Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations (ALFF), fractional ALFF, and Regional Homogeneity in the right middle cingulate cortex (MCC). Functional connectivity between the right MCC and the left hippocampus and bilateral precuneus also decreased. These connectivity changes correlated with depression improvement, suggesting MBSR promotes adaptive neural reorganization in emotional regulation networks.
Problematic social media use (PSMU), self-transcendence values, and school adaptation mutually influence each other over time among college students. In a two-wave longitudinal study of 2,668 students, each factor predicted changes in the other two six months later: PSMU predicted lower self-transcendence values and poorer school adaptation; self-transcendence values predicted less PSMU and better school adaptation; and school adaptation predicted greater self-transcendence values and less PSMU. Each variable also served as a mediator in the relationships between the other two. These bidirectional links support and extend Self-worth Theory and Self-determination Theory, suggesting that fostering self-transcendence values and school adaptation may help reduce problematic social media use.