Mindful Self-Care Psychoeducation for Emerging Adults: A Pilot Feasibility Study
Meltem Ozturk, M. Engin Deniz
The Universal Academic Research Journal July 19, 2026 DOI: 10.55236/tuara.1940772 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Single-arm pilot feasibility study with one-group pretest–posttest–follow-up design Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 11 |
| Population | University students |
| Intervention | Mindful Self-Care Psychoeducation Program |
| Duration | 10-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Psychoeducation Mental health Psychological intervention Coping psychology Randomized controlled trial Research design Clinical psychology Psychotherapist Program evaluation Mental illness |
| Key points | The Mindful Self-Care Psychoeducation Program produced sustained improvements in mindful self-care and significant changes in perceived stress, coping self-efficacy, and mental well-being, with moderate to large effect sizes. |
Abstract
Mindful self-care has emerged as a promising framework for supporting mental health by integrating mindfulness principles with intentional self-care practices. Although mindfulness-based and self-care–oriented interventions have been widely studied, structured psychoeducation programs explicitly targeting mindful self-care remain limited, particularly within emerging adult populations.The present study aimed to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary evidence of benefit of a Mindful Self-Care Psychoeducation Program. A single-arm pilot feasibility study employing a one-group pretest–posttest–follow-up design was conducted. The study group of this research consists of 11 university students who participated in a face-to-face psychoeducation program conducted once a week for 10 weeks. Outcomes were assessed using standardized self-report measures of mindful self-care, perceived stress, coping self-efficacy, and mental well-being across three time points. The results provide preliminary support for the feasibility and acceptability of the program. Repeated-measures analyses indicated a statistically significant change over time on mindful self-care scores, reflecting sustained improvements across the assessment points. Significant changes across time points were also observed for perceived stress, coping self-efficacy, and mental well-being, although post hoc comparisons indicated marginal or delayed changes for these outcomes. Effect sizes ranged from moderate to large across outcome measures, indicating that the psychoeducation program produced practically meaningful improvements in participants’ scores over time. Feasibility was also supported by high session attendance, low attrition, and positive participant feedback. Although conclusions regarding program’s effectiveness are limited by the pilot design and small sample size, the results support the appropriateness of the program for further evaluation in randomized controlled trials with larger and more diverse samples.
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 |