Beneficial Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on the Well-Being of a Female Sample during the First Total Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy
A. Accoto, Salvatore G Chiarella, Antonino Raffone, A. Montano, A. de Marco, Francesco Mainiero, Roberta Rubbino, Alessandro Valzania, D. Conversi
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health May 21, 2021 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18115512 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Italian females |
| Intervention | video support for meditation practice |
| Duration | 8-week MBSR course plus 6 weeks of video support |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | An 8-week MBSR course plus video support improved self-acceptance, purpose in life, and relation to others in Italian females during the COVID-19 lockdown. |
Abstract
The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown have been widely recognized as traumatic events that pose threats to psychological well-being. Recent studies reported that during such traumatic events, women tend to be at greater risk than men for developing symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Several studies reported that a mindfulness-based stress reduction protocol (MBSR) provides useful skills for dealing with traumatic events. In our study, a sample of Italian females received an 8-week MBSR course plus 6 weeks of video support for meditation practice during the first total lockdown in Italy. We assessed the participants with questionnaires before and after this period to investigate their mindfulness skills, psychological well-being, post-traumatic growth, and psychological flexibility. After the intervention, the meditators group reported improvement in measures associated with self-acceptance, purpose in life, and relation to others compared to the control group. Furthermore, our results showed that participants with greater mindfulness scores showed high levels of psychological flexibility, which in turn was positively associated with higher levels of psychological well-being. We concluded that the MBSR could support psychological well-being, at least in female subjects, even during an unpredictable adverse event, such as the COVID-19 lockdown, by reinforcing key psychological aspects.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 13
- Mindfulness-Based Interventions for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Literature Review. Brain Sciences September 30, 2024
- The effects of mindfulness on eudaimonic well-being and its theoretical explanation Advances in Psychological Science 2023
- Effectiveness of Daily Mindfulness Meditation App Usage to Reduce Anxiety and Improve Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Cureus July 1, 2023
- The Subjective Experience of Greek Women Attending a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program The European Journal of Counselling Psychology October 21, 2025
- Mind-body effects of mindfulness-based training in athletes: a preliminary randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology February 19, 2026
and 8 more in the library
Cites 29
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine May 1, 2009
- Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology Review July 26, 2011
- What Do We Really Know About Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction? Psychosomatic Medicine 2002
and 24 more in the library