A pilot study on the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction combined with yoga on psychological well-being and self-related outcomes in university students

A six-session mindfulness-based stress reduction program combined with yoga led to higher mindfulness, happiness, self-compassion, psychological well-being, and overall yoga self-efficacy in university students compared to a control group that received no intervention. Improvements were especially clear in body- and breath-related aspects of yoga self-efficacy. No statistically significant group difference was found for the mind sub-dimension of yoga self-efficacy, suggesting that short-term interventions may not alter cognitive dimensions. The study involved 32 undergraduate students from a foundation university in Türkiye, with 15 in the intervention group and 17 in the control group, mean age 21.68 years.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This research aimed to examine the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction combined with yoga on mindfulness, happiness, self-compassion, psychological well-being, and yoga self-efficacy among university students. A total of 32 undergraduate students from multiple faculties of a foundation university in Türkiye participated in the study; the intervention group comprised 15 students, and the remaining 17 constituted the control group. The participants, with a mean age of 21.68 years, were students from different academic departments and were enrolled at various year levels. This study employed a randomized controlled experimental design with pre- and post-test assessments. Measurement instruments included the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale, the Self-Compassion Scale–Short Form, the Yoga Self-Efficacy Scale, the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire–Short Form, and the Psychological Well-Being Scale–Short Form. The intervention group participated in six sessions of a mindfulness-based stress reduction combined with a yoga program, while the control group received no intervention. Group differences were examined using independent samples t-tests and analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), controlling for baseline scores. The results provided preliminary support for the intervention's effectiveness, indicating higher post-intervention levels of mindfulness, happiness, self-compassion, psychological well-being, and overall yoga self-efficacy in the intervention group compared to the control group. Improvements were particularly evident in body- and breath-related dimensions of yoga self-efficacy. In contrast, no statistically significant group difference emerged for the mind sub-dimension of yoga self-efficacy. The findings indicate that a short-term mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention combined with yoga exerts positive effects on well-being indicators and the somatic aspects of yoga self-efficacy among university students, whereas changes in the cognitive dimension appear less responsive to short-term interventions.