Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) increases mental wellbeing and emotion regulation during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a synchronous online intervention study. (Preprint)
Maya Sanilevici, Omer Reuveni, Shahar Lev-Ari, Yulia Golland, Nava Levit‐binnun
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort (non-randomized controlled trial; group assignment based on enrollment choice) |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 92 |
| Population | Individuals from the general population in Israel who expressed interest in discounted online MBSR programs during the first wave of COVID-19 |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) |
| Duration | 8-week program with assessments pre-intervention, post-intervention, and one-month post-intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Relative to controls, online MBSR improved mindfulness abilities, decreased anxiety and stress, and increased emotion regulation, with effects persisting one month after the program despite worsened pandemic restrictions. Tolerance of uncertainty was not significantly affected. The effect on mental health improvement was partially mediated by improvement in emotion regulation (β = 0.24). |
Abstract
UNSTRUCTURED: The COVID-19 pandemic imposed extreme living conditions of social distancing and stay-at-home orders, which not only triggered negative mental health problems, but also created challenges in seeking mental health support. Consequently, many support services and programs were forced to rapidly shift into online platforms. Mindfulness-based programs have been found to enhance wellbeing and mental health, by reducing stress and anxiety and improving emotion regulation. Preliminary evidence suggests that online, synchronous mindfulness-based programs may produce beneficial effects similar to face-to-face programs. However, the effectiveness of such online mindfulness programs to support mental health in extremely stressful times such as a global pandemic requires more study. To test the effect of an online 8-week mindfulness-based program (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, MBSR) on anxiety and stress levels, and on emotion regulation and tolerance of uncertainty abilities during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals/Participants (N=92) who expressed interest in discounted online-MBSR programs were recruited to the study. Division into experimental and control groups was based on actual enrollment to the courses. Those who decided to enroll to one of the programs were assigned to the experimental condition and those who decided not to enroll served as controls. Participants were assessed pre-intervention (T1), post-intervention (T2) and one-month post-intervention (T3) for levels of mindfulness, perceived stress, anxiety, emotion regulation and intolerance of uncertainty. The study was conducted in April 2020, at the peak of the first wave of COVID-19 in Israel and ended in July at the beginning of the second wave. The findings indicate that relative to the control group, MBSR improved mindfulness abilities (p=.004), decreased anxiety (p=.021) and stress (p<.001) and increased emotion regulation (p<.001). These effects persisted even a month after the end of the program, although governmental public-health restrictions due to COVID-19 were worsened at that time. Ability to tolerate uncertainty, a central characteristic of the pandemic, was not significantly affected by the program. The interventions effect on mental health improvement was partially mediated by the improvement in emotion regulation (β = 0.24, CI = [0.054, 0.373]) Overall, our findings provide positive evidence for the feasibility of an online-MBSR program to support mental health of individuals from the general population through the mediation of emotion regulation, in challenging times such as a global pandemic.
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 18
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects Psychological Inquiry October 19, 2007
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Complementary health practice review April 1, 2008
and 13 more in the library