Mindful Meditation Research on College Students

Science Direct, Volume 18, May 2016, Pages 33-45

EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH REVIEW

Objective

The primary purpose of this paper was to narratively review the research testing the effects of mindfulness meditation on stress and anxiety in the college students; reviewing the inclusion of mindfulness was a secondary purpose.

Methods

A literature search resulted in 57 studies on the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation in reducing stress and anxiety in college students.

Conclusions

Researchers examined anxiety in 40 studies, self-reported stress in 34, physiological stress in 11, and mindfulness in 24. Thirty-three of 40 and 25 of 34 studies showed significant decreases in anxiety and stress respectively; 22 of 24 showed an increase in mindfulness. Physiological stress had inconsistent results indicating a need for further research. Overall, mindfulness meditation shows promise in reducing stress and anxiety in college students. Additionally, there are a number of differences in mindfulness interventions including frequency, duration, instructional method, and inclusion of yoga, that need quantitative examination (meta-analysis) to determine which is most effective.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.12.004

Mandy D. Bamber, Joanne Kraenzle Schneider,

Mindfulness-based meditation to decrease stress and anxiety in college students: A narrative synthesis of the research,

Educational Research Review,

Volume 18,

2016,