Stress and the beliefs of meditation among community college students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess stress levels in community college students and their beliefs of meditation. Community college students tend to report high levels of stress due to demographic factors, such low economic status, need to work at least part time, and need for remedial classes. Many of these demographic factors are particularly found in students above the age of 24, which are considered nontraditional students. Understanding stress levels and beliefs of meditation among students is necessary to determine if a meditation program such as Transcendental Meditation (TM) may work within a community college setting to reduce stress. The convenience sample consisted of 221 community college students enrolled in English composition courses at one large community college located on the east coast of the United States. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire, which included closed- and open-ended questions. Students completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) and the Meditation Beliefs Questionnaire, which has two subscales, knowledge and perceptions of meditation. The study utilized descriptive statistics, analysis of variance procedures, and independent samples t-tests to determine differences between stress levels and beliefs of meditation, as well as differences in gender and age segment (i.e., traditional vs. nontraditional). While this study found no statistically significant differences among students beliefs of meditation and stress levels by gender or by age segment, findings showed statistically significant results for students who reported high versus moderate stress levels regarding beliefs of meditation. Specifically, the high stress group had significantly more knowledge than the moderate stress group about the actual benefits of meditation. One practical implication of the research could be to develop an educational program introducing students to TM, which may reduce stress and improve academic performance. Ultimately, such a program may transform the lives of community college students by improving graduation rates and by encouraging lifelong practices that have an impact on students health and wellbeing.