The Mental Health and Wellbeing of University Students: Acceptability, Effectiveness, and Mechanisms of a Mindfulness-Based Course.

Emma Medlicott,Willem Kuyken,Catherine Crane,Alice Tickell,Laura Taylor,Verena Hinze,Jesus Montero-Marin,Alice Phillips

doi:10.3390/ijerph18116023

Abstract

Mental health problems are relatively common during university and adversely affect academic outcomes. Evidence suggests that mindfulness can support the mental health and wellbeing of university students. We explored the acceptability and effectiveness of an 8-week instructor-led mindfulness-based course (“Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World”; Williams and Penman, 2011) on improving wellbeing and mental health (self-reported distress), orientation and motivation towards academic goals, and the mechanisms driving these changes. Eighty-six undergraduate and post-graduate students (>18 years) participated. Students engaged well with the course, with 36 (48.0%) completing the whole programme, 52 (69.3%) attending 7 out of 8 sessions, and 71 (94.7%) completing at least half. Significant improvements in wellbeing and mental health were found post-intervention and at 6-week follow-up. Improvements in wellbeing were mediated by mindfulness, self-compassion, and resilience. Improvements in mental health were mediated by improvements in mindfulness and resilience but not self-compassion. Significant improvements in students’ orientation to their academic goal, measured by “commitment” to, “likelihood” of achieving, and feeling more equipped with the “skills and resources” needed, were found at post-intervention and at 6-week follow-up. Whilst exploratory, the results suggest that this mindfulness intervention is acceptable and effective for university students and can support academic study.

Highlights

A growing proportion of the population is benefitting from the social, occupational, and academic opportunities offered by higher education
We explored the relationships between time, the pre-post-intervention changes in the mediators, and the pre-intervention to follow-up changes in the main outcomes, using ordinary least squares (OLS) analyses
Whilst academic outcomes were not measured in the present study, we found an effect of time on students’ orientation towards their most important academic goal, suggesting the M-FP may have facilitated a more positive orientation towards academic goals

Summary

Introduction

A growing proportion of the population is benefitting from the social, occupational, and academic opportunities offered by higher education. There has been a three percent increase in higher education enrolments across both undergraduate and post-graduate university students, with larger numbers of ethnic minority students and students registering with a disability [1]. Rates of mental health difficulties amongst university students are noteworthy. A growing body of research suggests that mental health difficulties worsen throughout the degree programme [6,7,8]. Whilst an increase in symptoms may not be caused by higher education itself, it is frequently suggested that the daily stressors associated with university life are a significant contributing factor [7]. Post-graduate students are burdened with additional daily stressors, including difficulties in the supervisory relationship and isolation [9]

Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion