Mindfulness, happiness, and anxiety in a sample of college students before and after taking a meditation course

College students who took a semester-long experiential meditation course reported greater increases in mindfulness and subjective happiness, and greater decreases in anxiety, compared to students in a non-meditation psychosocial class. The meditation group comprised 74 students and the comparison group 73 students. Mindfulness was measured with the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale, anxiety with the State Trait Anxiety Inventory, and happiness with the Subjective Happiness Scale. The findings suggest that a meditation course can improve well-being among college students.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Objective To explore differences in mindfulness, happiness, and perceived anxiety in a sample of college students before and after taking a meditation course. Participants Participants were college students at a primarily undergraduate institution enrolled in an experiential meditation class (n = 74) and a non-meditation class comparison group (n = 73). Methods The study design was a before-after observational study with two groups and three dependent variables: the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Subjective Happiness Scale. Results Students in the meditation course increased average subjective happiness and mindfulness attention awareness. Mindfulness scores increased and anxiety decreased more for students in the meditation class compared to students in the psychosocial class. Conclusions This research provides evidence that taking a semester long meditation course is associated with improvements in college student well-being.