The impact of mindfulness training on alleviating COVID-19 fear among international students in China: A quasi-experimental study

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of mindfulness training on alleviating fear of the COVID-19 epidemic among international students in China during the academic year 2020. The training group participants (N = 41) and the control group participants (N = 44) were surveyed pre-and post-training with the two English questionnaires: The Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and the fear of the COVID-19 scale (FCV–19S). The results showed that, regarding the relationship between the two main variables in the study, mindfulness is related negatively to the COVID-19 epidemic. Moreover, compared to the control group, results showed that individuals in the training group demonstrated significant improvements in mindfulness levels and decreased Fear of COVID-19. Thus, findings suggest that a short online mindfulness meditation training may reduce fear of the COVID-19 epidemic.