1. Mindfulness Meditation Training and Graduate Student Wellness
Erin B. Anderson, MPH Candidate & Carol A. Dolan, PhD
Introduction
Aim
Methods Results
Conclusions
References
Mindfulness training is a secular,
meditation-based practice characterized
by the cultivation of acceptance and
non-judgmental attention to the present
moment, and it has been found to
alleviate symptoms for a wide variety of
conditions, bringing cost-effective
improvements in both physical health
and psychological wellbeing (Grossman
et al., 2004). Previous research has
shown that mindfulness has been
associated in lower levels of perceived
stress and improved coping among
undergraduate students (Weinstein et
al., 2009).
The purpose of this study was to offer
mindfulness training to a graduate student
population and track its effects on
perceived stress levels, medical
symptoms, and coping skills. Our
secondary purpose was methodological;
to detect if 8 weekly sessions of one hour
each would produce a significant effect.
Our hypotheses were that upon
completion of mindfulness training, (1)
perceived stress levels will decrease or
show less of an increase as compared to
controls; (2) physical symptoms
frequency and severity will decrease or
show less of an increase as compared to
controls; and (3) avoidance coping will
decrease and approach-style coping will
increase as compared to controls.
Measures
• Perceived Stress Scale
• Symptoms of Illness Checklist
• Brief COPE
• “Mindful Benefit” subscale = religious/
spiritual and acceptance subscales
• “Self-blame + Denial” subscale =
self-blame and denial subscales
Participants
• 29 graduate students of Boston
University:
• 15 meditation group participants
• 14 control group participants
Course Curriculum
• Adapted from the Mindfulness Based
Stress Reduction Program
• Didactic lecture, group discussion, and
active meditation practice
• BUSPH student instructor with previous
MBSR training and experience leading
meditations in a clinical setting
Procedure
• All students completed measures at
pre-test and post-test
• Meditation group participated in 8
weeks of one-hour mindfulness
meditation sessions
• Control group served as a comparison
for all measures at baseline and at
follow up
• Eight weeks of mindfulness meditation
has the capacity to reduce stress
among graduate students
• Training can also influence coping
skills, increasing spirituality and
acceptance as well as decreasing self-
blame and denial
• Though symptoms of illness were
trending downward among meditation
students in the present study, further
study is needed to determine the effects
of mindfulness meditation training on
symptoms of illness
Meditation” by Scott Schumacher is licensed under CC By 2.0
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Meditation Control
Perceived Stress Scores
Pre test
Post test
Change
Scores
t = 2.29
df = 27
p = 0.0303*
8.5
9
9.5
10
10.5
11
Meditation Control
Mindful Benefit Coping Scores
Pre test
Post test
Change
Scores
t = -2.29
df = 26
p = 0.0307*
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Meditation Control
Self-Blame + Denial Coping Scores
Pre test
Post test
Change
Scores
t = 2.37
df = 26
p = 0.0257*
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Meditation Control
Symptoms of Illness Scores
Pre test
Post test
Change
Scores
t = 1.73
df = 27
p = 0.0943
Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H.
(2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and
health benefits. Journal of Psychosomatic Research,
57(1), 35–43. doi:10.1016/S0022-3999(03)00573-7
Weinstein, N., Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). A multi-
method examination of the effects of mindfulness on
stress attribution, coping, and emotional well-being.
Journal of Research in Personality, 43(3), 374–385.
doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2008.12.008