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