Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Increases Mental Wellbeing and Emotion Regulation During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Synchronous Online Intervention Study
Maya Sanilevici, Omer Reuveni, Shahar Lev-Ari, Yulia Golland, Nava Levit‐binnun
Frontiers in Psychology November 11, 2021 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720965 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 92 |
| Population | Adults from the general population who expressed interest in discounted online-MBSR programs |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) |
| Duration | 8-week intervention, 1-month follow-up |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Online MBSR improved mindfulness, decreased anxiety and stress, and increased emotion regulation, with effects persisting one month post-intervention, but did not affect intolerance of uncertainty. |
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic imposed extreme living conditions of social distancing, which triggered negative mental health problems and created challenges in seeking mental health support. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been found to enhance wellbeing and mental health by reducing stress and anxiety and improving emotion regulation. Preliminary evidence suggests that online, synchronous MBIs may produce beneficial effects similar to face-to-face programs. However, the effectiveness of such online-MBIs to support mental health in highly stressful times, such as a global pandemic, requires further study. To this end, we investigated the effect of an online 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program on aspects of mental health during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (N=92) who expressed interest in discounted online-MBSR programs were recruited for the study. The division into experimental and control groups was based on actual enrollment to the courses. Those who enrolled in a program were assigned to the experimental condition and those who decided not to enroll served as controls. Participants were assessed pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 1-month post-intervention for levels of mindfulness, perceived stress, anxiety, emotion regulation, and intolerance of uncertainty. Differences between the groups were tested using the general linear mixed effects model (GLMM) and Individual Growth Curve Models (IGCM) in intent to treat analysis. The findings indicated that, relative to the control group, MBSR improved mindfulness abilities (p <0.001), decreased anxiety (p <0.001), and stress (p <0.001) and increased emotion regulation (p <0.001). These effects were found to persist 1 month after the end of the program, despite the increased governmental public-health restrictions due to COVID-19 at that time. The ability to tolerate uncertainty, a central characteristic of the pandemic, was not found to be affected by the program. A mediation analysis revealed that the effect of the intervention on mental health improvement was partially mediated by the improvement in emotion regulation. Overall, the findings provide positive evidence for the feasibility of an online-MBSR program to support the mental health of individuals from the general population through the mediation of emotion regulation in challenging times, such as a global pandemic.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 21
- Cognitive, psychological, and physiological effects of a web-based mindfulness intervention in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: an open study. BMC Geriatrics February 14, 2024
- Training-related improvements in mental well-being through reduction in negative interpretation bias: A randomized trial of online socio-emotional dyadic and mindfulness interventions. Journal of Affective Disorders June 1, 2024
- Mobile-Delivered Mindfulness Intervention on Anxiety Level Among College Athletes: Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research March 8, 2024
- Personality traits, mindfulness, and perceived stress in Chinese adults: a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach Frontiers in Psychology January 3, 2025
- A neuroscience perspective on the plasticity of the social and relational brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences May 1, 2025
and 16 more in the library
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