The Effects of a Brief Mindfulness Intervention on Mindfulness, Stress and Emotional Intelligence in Medical Students

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a brief mindfulness-based intervention (b-MBI) on the levels of mindfulness, perceived stress and emotional intelligence (EI). Fifty-nine undergraduate students in medicine course were randomly allocated to either 4 weekly b-MBI sessions (n = 30) or waitlist control (n = 29). All participants completed Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and USM Emotional Quotient Inventory (USMEQ-i) at pre- and post-intervention. Findings from mixed-factorial ANOVA revealed significant cross-over interactions, but no significant main effects of treatment conditions and time, on mindfulness and perceived stress. Post-hoc analyses indicated intervention group to experience significantly increased levels of mindfulness (p = 0.012) and decreased perceived stress (p = 0.003) at post-intervention, which were unobserved in the controls. Significant main effect of time was observed (p = 0.001) for EI; however, only intervention group reported significant increase in the scores (p = 0.004). The lack of between-group treatment effects could be justified due to relatively low stress and high EI for intervention and control groups at baseline. Nonetheless, within-group findings provided preliminary evidence that b-MBI may be beneficial in improving mindfulness, perceived stress and EI. This intervention may be adapted into the medical curriculum to improve the psychological well-being of medical students.