App-based mindfulness meditation for psychological distress and adjustment to college in incoming university students

A pragmatic, randomised, waitlist-controlled trial

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21579554
AutoresJayde A M Flett (0000-0001-7510-6166, University of Otago, autor de correspondencia), Tamlin S Conner (0000-0003-1520-5407, University of Otago), Benjamin C Riordan (0000-0002-7805-0652, University of Otago), Tess Patterson (0000-0001-9190-714X, University of Otago), Harlene Hayne (0000-0002-1970-7191, University of Otago)
Año2020
Volumen35
Número9
Páginas1049-1074
Fecha de publicación2020-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPsychology & Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0887-0446 • E-ISSN: 1476-8321
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08870446.2019.1711089
PMID32046499
OpenAlexW3005590806
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas57

Objective and Design: In a pragmatic, randomised, waitlist-controlled trial we tracked 250 first-year university students who were randomly assigned to 3 months of a mindfulness meditation app (Headspace) to use at their discretion in either semester 1 (intervention, n = 124) or semester 2 (waitlist, n = 126). Main Outcome Measures: Students reported their distress, college adjustment, resilience, self-efficacy, and mindfulness, at 3 timepoints: the beginning of semester 1, the beginning of semester 2, and the end of the academic year. With participants’ permission, the university provided academic achievement data and Headspace provided app use data. Results: Evidence for improvements in distress at the beginning of semester 2 was weak (intervention vs. waitlist) and app use was low (M = 7.91, SD = 15.16 sessions). Nevertheless, intervention participants who used the app more frequently reported improvements in psychological distress (−5 points, R2 change = .12) and college adjustment (+10 points, R2 change = .09) when compared to non-users. App initiation and persistence beyond the first week was higher when the app was provided in semester 1 than semester 2 (66.1% vs. 44.4%; 46.0% vs. 32.5%). Conclusion: Headspace use was associated with small improvements in distress and college adjustment in first-year university students. Intervening at the beginning of the academic year may encourage uptake

Academic year · Distress · Meditation · Mental health · Mindfulness · Psychiatry · Psychological distress · Psychological resilience · Psychotherapist · Randomized controlled trial · Clinical Psychology · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Medicine · Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions · Psychology