Loneliness, Mindfulness, and Academic Achievements: A Moderation Effect among First-Year College Students
Eyal Rosenstreich, Malka Margalit
The Open Psychology Journal May 15, 2015 DOI: 10.2174/1874350101508010138 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 73 |
| Population | First-semester college students |
| Intervention | Mindfulness workshops |
| Duration | Academic year |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 55 |
| Key findings | Loneliness negatively predicted academic grades only for students who did not practice mindfulness; grades were higher in the mindfulness group than in the control group, suggesting a moderating effect of mindfulness. |
Abstract
The transition to college enhances feelings of loneliness, and lonely students typically underperform academically due to the depletion of cognitive resources. Mindfulness practice has been demonstrated to improve certain cognitive abilities. The current study examined whether mindfulness practice may moderate the relations between perceived loneliness and academic performance. In this study we combined data from two separate studies. In the first, loneliness, optimism, and academic self-efficacy were measured at the beginning of the academic year. In the second, mindfulness workshops were conducted in order to examine their impact on memory performance. In all, 73 college students in their first semester participated in the conjoint study ( N = 50 mindfulness practice and N = 23 control). Their grades at the end of the semester and at the end of the year were also collected. Regression analyses were conducted in order to examine whether mindfulness moderated the effect of loneliness on academic achievements, and revealed that: a) loneliness was negatively correlated with recognition memory performance and with grades; b) grades were higher in the mindfulness group than in the control group; c) mindfulness and loneliness interacted, such that loneliness negatively predicted academic grades only for students who did not practice mindfulness. The results suggested that mindfulness practice may reduce the outcomes of loneliness on academic achievements in the first year of college.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cites 8
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
- Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Stress and Health March 15, 2010
- Debiasing the Mind Through Meditation Psychological Science December 6, 2013
and 3 more in the library