Online Short-Term Mindfulness-Based Intervention During COVID-19 Quarantine in Italy: Effects on Wellbeing, Stress, and Anxiety.
Frontiers in Psychology January 1, 2022 Teresa Fazia, Francesco Bubbico, Andrea Nova et al.
During Italy's March 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, a short online mindfulness-based meditation program (Integral Meditation, IM) was tested in healthy adults. The quasi-experimental study matched 84 participants into treated and control groups. Linear mixed-effect models showed that IM significantly improved wellbeing (WEMWBS score increased by 4.61 points) and reduced state anxiety (STAI-X1 score decreased by 8.24 points) only among those with higher baseline trait anxiety. No significant effect on perceived stress was found. The program may benefit mental health specifically for people prone to anxiety.