Effects of Mindfulness-Based Tibetan Dance on College Students’ Resilience: The Mediating Roles of Mindful Attention Awareness and Perceived Stress
Lin Shu, Chuang Yan, Chao Chen
Research Square November 4, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-11412367/v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 202 |
| Population | Female college students |
| Interventions | Tibetan dance Aerobics |
| Duration | 15-week intervention (once weekly, 90 min/session); pre- and post-intervention measures |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Tibetan dance significantly increased resilience and mindful attention awareness and reduced perceived stress relative to an aerobics control over 15 weeks. Mindful attention awareness mediated 32.5% and perceived stress 23.5% of the total effect on resilience (0.523), with a direct association remaining. |
Abstract
Abstract Background College students face multiple challenges, including academic pressure, employment anxiety, and interpersonal difficulties, and their resilience has been declining. Strengthening resilience is therefore crucial for college students’ comprehensive development. Tibetan dance, through its steady, restrained, and well-balanced bodily rhythms, embodies the cultural spirit of moderation, resilience, and harmony, reflecting the mindfulness traits of acceptance, non-judgment, and present-moment awareness. This study examined the effects of Tibetan dance on college students’ resilience and the mediating roles of mindful attention awareness and perceived stress.
Methods: A 2 (group: Tibetan dance vs. aerobics control) × 2 (time: pretest vs. posttest) mixed design was used. In total, 208 female college students were randomly assigned and received a 15-week intervention (once weekly, 90 min/session); 202 valid participants remained. Resilience, mindful attention awareness, and perceived stress were measured pre- and post-intervention. Repeated-measures ANOVA, AMOS structural equation modeling, and bootstrap serial mediation analyses (5,000 resamples, bias-corrected 95% CIs) were conducted.
Results: The group × time interaction effects were significant for total resilience scores, mindful attention awareness, and total perceived stress scores (p < 0.001). At posttest, the Tibetan dance group had higher resilience and mindful attention awareness and lower perceived stress than the control group. Mediation analysis showed that the total effect of Tibetan dance on resilience was 0.523; the separate mediating effect of mindful attention awareness was 0.170, accounting for 32.5% of the total effect; the separate mediating effect of perceived stress was 0.123, accounting for 23.5% of the total effect.
Conclusions: Tibetan dance significantly enhanced college students’ resilience, increased their mindful attention awareness, and reduced their perceived stress. Both mindful attention awareness and perceived stress mediated the relationship between Tibetan dance and resilience, and Tibetan dance was also directly associated with resilience. Thus, Tibetan dance not only directly promoted resilience but also exerted indirect effects by enhancing mindful attention awareness and reducing perceived stress.
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 |