A Comparison of Mindfulness Techniques to Reduce Anxiety in a University Setting

Presenter Information

Brennah McCorkellFollow

Location

CSU Ballroom

Start Date

10-4-2018 2:00 PM

End Date

10-4-2018 3:30 PM

Student's Major

Psychology

Student's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Mentor's Name

Shawna Petersen-Brown

Mentor's Department

Psychology

Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Second Mentor's Name

Carlos Panahon

Second Mentor's Department

Psychology

Second Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Third Mentor's Name

Megan Johnson

Third Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Description

Undergraduate students are prone to high levels of stress, and stress is likely to result in negative outcomes for these students, including reduced self-esteem and poor health habits (Hudd et al., 2000). With this being said, identifying effective interventions for stressed undergraduate students is critical. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) could have potential benefits for coping with stress. MBIs emphasize the regulation of attention with a focus on being present, open, and accepting, which can help reduce stress (Carsley, Heath, & Fajnerova, 2015). MBIs have been found to be effective in decreasing stress and anxiety levels in college students. There is a lack of research on MBIs within the university setting, suggesting that more research is needed prior to their use. There is not only a need to add to the research investigating MBIs in a university setting, but there is also a need to compare MBIs to other accepted methods of reducing stress and anxiety, including stress reduction seminars which include psychoeducation and relaxation training. Our study will utilize a randomized group design with a pretest and posttest as well as two groups: MBI and a stress reduction seminar. We hypothesize that anxiety levels will be reduced the most in the seminar condition. This is because the participants will be learning actual skills that they can apply to their lives and use to reduce everyday stress rather than simply coloring in a mandala. Preliminary results and implications for the findings will be discussed.

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Apr 10th, 2:00 PM Apr 10th, 3:30 PM

A Comparison of Mindfulness Techniques to Reduce Anxiety in a University Setting

CSU Ballroom

Undergraduate students are prone to high levels of stress, and stress is likely to result in negative outcomes for these students, including reduced self-esteem and poor health habits (Hudd et al., 2000). With this being said, identifying effective interventions for stressed undergraduate students is critical. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) could have potential benefits for coping with stress. MBIs emphasize the regulation of attention with a focus on being present, open, and accepting, which can help reduce stress (Carsley, Heath, & Fajnerova, 2015). MBIs have been found to be effective in decreasing stress and anxiety levels in college students. There is a lack of research on MBIs within the university setting, suggesting that more research is needed prior to their use. There is not only a need to add to the research investigating MBIs in a university setting, but there is also a need to compare MBIs to other accepted methods of reducing stress and anxiety, including stress reduction seminars which include psychoeducation and relaxation training. Our study will utilize a randomized group design with a pretest and posttest as well as two groups: MBI and a stress reduction seminar. We hypothesize that anxiety levels will be reduced the most in the seminar condition. This is because the participants will be learning actual skills that they can apply to their lives and use to reduce everyday stress rather than simply coloring in a mandala. Preliminary results and implications for the findings will be discussed.

Recommended Citation

McCorkell, Brennah. "A Comparison of Mindfulness Techniques to Reduce Anxiety in a University Setting." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 10, 2018.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2018/poster-session-B/11