Mindfulness as a way to cope with COVID‐19‐related stress and anxiety
Robert Weis, Sullivan D. Ray, Tema A. Cohen
December 13, 2020 DOI: 10.1002/capr.12375 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA four-week mindfulness-based group therapy called Koru Mindfulness (KM) helped college students cope with stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to a waitlist control group, KM participants reported greater mindfulness and self-compassion and less stress, anxiety, and sleep problems. They also performed better on attention measures. Most gains were maintained over time. Increased mindfulness explained the reductions in stress and anxiety. KM can help students manage academic and pandemic-related stressors.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Population | College students |
| Intervention | Koru Mindfulness |
| Duration | Four-week intervention |
| Keywords | Psychology Education |
| Key finding | Koru Mindfulness improved mindfulness, self-compassion, and attention, and reduced stress, anxiety, and sleep problems in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
Abstract
Abstract COVID-19 brought significant challenges to college students in Spring 2020 Mindfulness-based interventions might help students cope with COVID-19-related stressors in at least three ways: by cultivating attention that is self-directed rather than reactive to a rapidly changing situation;by teaching the acceptance and regulation of negative thoughts and feelings;and by encouraging individuals to view adverse events non-judgementally and as opportunities for growth The purpose of our study was to determine whether Koru Mindfulness (KM), a four-week, mindfulness-based group therapy designed for emerging adults, could help students cope with COVID-19-related stress and anxiety Students were assigned to either KM or waitlist at the beginning of the 2020 Spring semester Assessment of students? functioning occurred at baseline before the onset of COVID-19, mid-semester at the height of the COVID-19 crisis on campus, and the end of the semester after students had returned home and transitioned to remote learning After treatment, KM participants reported greater mindfulness and self-compassion and less stress, anxiety and sleep problems than controls KM participants also showed superior functioning on performance-based measures of attention Most gains were maintained over time Increased mindfulness mediated the relationship between KM and reductions in stress and anxiety KM can help students cope with academic and COVID-19-related stressors by improving mindfulness