Meditation Lowers Stress and Supports Forgiveness Among College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Doug Oman, Shauna L. Shapiro, Carl E. Thoresen, Thomas G. Plante, Tim Flinders
Journal of American College Health March 1, 2008 DOI: 10.3200/jach.56.5.569-578 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractCollege undergraduates who completed eight weeks of meditation-based stress-management training showed reduced stress and increased forgiveness compared with a wait-list control group. Two programs—mindfulness-based stress reduction and Easwaran's Eight-Point Program—produced similar benefits; no differences emerged between them or between the end of training and an eight-week follow-up. Improvements in rumination were marginal. The findings suggest that brief, meditation-based programs can serve as health-promotion tools for college populations.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 44 |
| Population | College undergraduates |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based stress reduction Easwaran's Eight-Point Program |
| Duration | 8-week intervention, 8-week follow-up |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Rumination Clinical psychology Forgiveness Stress management Randomized controlled trial |
| Citations | 368 |
| Key finding | Meditation-based stress-management training reduced stress and enhanced forgiveness among college undergraduates compared with a wait-list control. |
Abstract
OBJECTIVE AND PARTICIPANTS: The authors evaluated the effects on stress, rumination, forgiveness, and hope of two 8-week, 90-min/wk training programs for college undergraduates in meditation-based stress-management tools. METHODS: After a pretest, the authors randomly allocated college undergraduates to training in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR; n = 15), Easwaran's Eight-Point Program (EPP; n = 14), or wait-list control (n = 15). The authors gathered pretest, posttest, and 8-week follow-up data on self-report outcome measures. RESULTS: The authors observed no post-treatment differences between MBSR and EPP or between posttest and 8-week follow-up (p > .10). Compared with controls, treated participants (n = 29) demonstrated significant benefits for stress (p < .05, Cohen's d = -.45) and forgiveness (p < .05, d = .34) and marginal benefits for rumination (p < .10, d = -.34). CONCLUSIONS: Evidence suggests that meditation-based stress-management practices reduce stress and enhance forgiveness among college undergraduates. Such programs merit further study as potential health-promotion tools for college populations.