Evaluation of a socio-cognitive mindfulness program using a mobile application to promote nursing students' mindfulness, emotion regulation, and empathy: a quasi-experimental study.
Mikyoung Lee
BMC Nursing March 4, 2026 DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-04473-7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a nonequivalent control group Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 70 |
| Population | Third-year nursing students at a single university in South Korea |
| Intervention | Mobile application-based socio-cognitive mindfulness program |
| Duration | Six-week, 12-session program |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Emotion regulation Empathy Nursing students Mobile application Socio-cognitive mindfulness |
| Key findings | The mobile socio-cognitive mindfulness program was associated with greater pre-post improvement in socio-cognitive mindfulness (Cohen's d = 0.415) and reappraisal (Cohen's d = 0.377) than no intervention, while suppression and empathy showed no significant between-group change. The authors propose that such programs may support psychological flexibility and that more interactive, extended methods may be needed to foster empathy. |
Abstract
Background: Socio-cognitive mindfulness is highly applicable in educational contexts and has demonstrated benefits for mindfulness, emotion regulation, and empathy; however, nursing research in this area remains limited, with most digital interventions focusing on meditation-based mindfulness. This study aimed to evaluate a mobile application-based socio-cognitive mindfulness program with regard to nursing students' mindfulness, emotion regulation, and empathy.
Methods: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a nonequivalent control group was employed. The participants were 70 third-year nursing students from a single university located in South Korea (35 experimental, 35 control). The experimental group participated in a six-week, 12-session socio-cognitive mindfulness program delivered through a mobile application, while no intervention was received by the control group. Validated scales for socio-cognitive mindfulness, emotion regulation (reappraisal and suppression), and empathy were used for data collection. Independent t-tests were used to compare between-group differences in pre-post change scores.
Results: The experimental group showed an improvement in socio-cognitive mindfulness in comparison with the control group (p = .020, Cohen's d = 0.415). Similarly, reappraisal increased in the experimental group in relation to the control group (p = .031, Cohen's d = 0.377). However, suppression and empathy showed no significant change between groups.
Conclusions: The mobile socio-cognitive mindfulness program was associated with pre-post improvements in mindfulness and adaptive reappraisal, while changes in suppression and empathy were not detected. Integrating such programs into nursing curricula may support psychological flexibility, and more interactive and extended methods may be needed to foster empathy. Clinical trial number: Not applicable.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 13
- Mindfulness-Based Mobile Apps and Their Impact on Well-Being in Nonclinical Populations: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials Journal of Medical Internet Research June 21, 2023
- The effects of mindfulness-based techniques on self-rumination, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression among patients with major depression: a nursing perspective. Journal of Research in Nursing August 1, 2024
- The Effect of a Mindfulness-Based Class on Mindfulness, Achievement Emotions, Emotion Regulation, and Empathy in Nursing Students. Nursing Reports October 23, 2025
- Reflective mindfulness and emotional regulation training to enhance nursing students’ self-awareness, understanding, and regulation: a mixed method randomized controlled trial BMC Nursing April 30, 2025
- Examining the Effects of a Brief, Fully Self-Guided Mindfulness Ecological Momentary Intervention on Empathy and Theory-of-Mind for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mental Health May 24, 2024
and 8 more in the library