Reducing Stress Among College Students: Mindfulness Meditation Versus Adult Coloring
Date
2022-12
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Department of Psychology, University of Tampa
Abstract
College students report a wide variety of stressors including
academic diffculties, uncertainty about future career plans, confict
with roommates, family pressure, and fnancial worries (Aselton,
2012). It is important to research not only stress reduction
interventions for college students, but also effective ways to
disseminate these programs to students, especially given how
busy students are. The purpose of this study was to compare
a brief 2-week peer-delivered mindfulness meditation intervention
with an adult coloring intervention and a control condition that
received general stress reduction tips. Participants were randomly
assigned to an experimental condition (mindfulness meditation or
adult-coloring) or the control condition (general stress reduction tips).
Participants’ levels of stress, psychological distress, anxiety, and
mindfulness were measured via pre-and post-treatment assessments
(online self-report surveys). All interactions with participants were
conducted remotely, through Zoom and email. Participants were
74 General Psychology students who enrolled via Sona Systems,
a participant pool management system, as part of their class
participation. Results found that all interventions were equally
benefcial in reducing stress and psychological distress among
college students. Both control and mindfulness conditions showed
significant decreases in anxiety compared to the adult coloring
condition. Contrary to expectations, the control condition showed
significant increases in mindfulness compared to the adult coloring
and mindfulness conditions. Mindfulness meditation, adult coloring,
and psychoeducation all show the potential to be effective in helping
college students manage their stress.
Description
Recommended citation: Font, Pamela, and Hannah DeCosta. "Reducing Stress Among College Students: Mindfulness Meditation Versus Adult Coloring." Acta Spartae, 2022. https://doi.org/10.48497/BWBG-VD75
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Keywords
Psychoeducation, Meditation, Stress, Adult coloring, Anxiety, Psychological distress, Mindfulness meditation
Citation
Font, Pamela, and Hannah DeCosta. "Reducing Stress Among College Students: Mindfulness Meditation Versus Adult Coloring." Acta Spartae, 2022. https://doi.org/10.48497/BWBG-VD75