Effectiveness of Mindfulness and Strengths in Daily Life Program for University Student Wellbeing and Stress Reduction
Mario César Toledo, Masaya Okamoto, María Paula Guerra-Domínguez, Rosalinda Ballesteros
preprint DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9603205/v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental pre-post design |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 774 |
| Population | University students from a Latin American institution |
| Intervention | Mindfulness and Strengths in Daily Life (MSDL) Program |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | The MSDL program significantly improved mindfulness state, character strengths use, subjective and psychological wellbeing, and reduced perceived stress. Participants with minimal prior knowledge of mindfulness or character strengths showed larger positive effects, and the self-directed modality tended toward slightly greater gains. |
Abstract
Abstract University students globally face increasing mental health challenges, underscoring the urgent need for effective wellbeing interventions. This study evaluated the impact of the Mindfulness and Strengths in Daily Life (MSDL) Program, which is based on the Mindfulness-Based Strengths Program (MBSP), on subjective wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, perceived stress, mindfulness state, and character strengths use. A quasi-experimental pre-post design was implemented with 774 university students from a Latin American institution. Paired-samples t-tests revealed significant improvements across all measured variables for the full sample: mindfulness state and character strengths use significantly increased, as did subjective and psychological well-being, while perceived stress substantially decreased. Subgroup analyses demonstrated that the MSDL was beneficial across all demographic and delivery modalities. Notably, participants with minimal prior knowledge of mindfulness or character strengths experienced larger positive effects, and the self-directed modality showed a tendency for slightly greater gains. These findings provide robust evidence for the MSDL’s effectiveness in enhancing student wellbeing and reducing stress in higher education, highlighting its potential for scalable implementation in diverse cultural contexts, particularly for those new to these practices.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects Psychological Inquiry October 19, 2007
- A mindfulness-based intervention to increase resilience to stress in university students (the Mindful Student Study): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial The Lancet Public Health December 18, 2017
- Effectiveness of providing university students with a mindfulness-based intervention to increase resilience to stress: 1-year follow-up of a pragmatic randomised controlled trial Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health September 10, 2020
and 2 more in the library