App‐based mindfulness training supported eudaimonic wellbeing during the COVID19 pandemic
Agnieszka Golec de Zavala, Oliver Keenan, Matthias D. Ziegler, Paweł Ciesielski, Julia E. Wahl, Magdalena Mazurkiewicz
Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being July 11, 2023 DOI: 10.1111/aphw.12468 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Preregistered Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 219 |
| Population | Mobile-phone app users, studied during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Intervention | Mobile-phone app-based mindfulness training |
| Duration | 6 weeks |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 14 |
| Key findings | App-based mindfulness training increased wellbeing and the self-transcendent emotions gratitude, self-compassion, and awe compared with a waiting-list group. Increases in all three emotions were positively associated with increases in wellbeing, with similar association strength in both groups. The authors propose that more studies are needed to test whether mindfulness effects on wellbeing are driven by increases in self-transcendent emotions. |
Abstract
A randomized-controlled-trial study (N = 219) tested two pre-registered hypotheses that mobile-phone app-based mindfulness training improves wellbeing and increases self-transcendent emotions: gratitude, self-compassion, and awe. Latent change score modeling with a robust maximum likelihood estimator was used to test how those changes are associated in the training versus the waiting-list group. The training increased wellbeing and all self-transcendent emotions regardless of interindividual variance in the changes across time. Changes in all self-transcendent emotions were positively associated with changes in wellbeing. The strength of those associations was comparable in the waiting-list group and the training group. More studies are needed to test whether the effects of mindfulness practice on wellbeing are driven by increases in self-transcendent emotions. The study was conducted over 6 weeks during the COVID19 pandemic. The results indicate that the mindfulness training can be an easily accessible effective intervention supporting eudaimonic wellbeing in face of adversity.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Global trends and emerging themes in psychological well‐being and mindfulness research: A science‐mapping study aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 3 (good health and well‐being) Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being December 1, 2025
- Mindfulness on the Palm of Your Hand: A Systematic Review of Mobile Mindfulness Apps and Their Effects on Well-Being, Compassion, and Aggression in Non-Clinical Adults. Healthcare May 29, 2026
Cites 28
- Mindfulness Interventions Annual Review of Psychology September 30, 2016
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- What defines mindfulness-based programs? The warp and the weft Psychological Medicine December 29, 2016
- Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse JAMA Psychiatry April 28, 2016
and 23 more in the library