Abstract
The study examined the effects of a short-term web-based mindfulness program. Participants describing themselves as stressed were recruited and a total of 70 participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group (n=35) and a control group (n=35). The mindfulness program included two, 10-minute exercises per day, six days a week, for two weeks. Twenty participants in the treatment group and 34 participants in the control group completed the training. The mean pretest scores indicated that the group was above the cutoff for severe stress on a wellestablished measure (the Perceived Stress Questionnaire). Measures of stress, anxiety and depression symptoms, and a mindfulness questionnaire were administered before, during (after 1 week), and at the end of the treatment (after 2 weeks). The results showed that mindfulness training increased mindfulness skills and reduced levels of perceived stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms (Cohen’s ds>1). No significant changes from pre- to posttest were observed in the wait-list control group. Additionally, increments from pre- to post-test in mindfulness skills were associated with reductions in symptom scores, indicating treatment-specific effects. Together, the results suggest that the brief webbased mindfulness program may serve as an effective means to treat individuals suffering from stress, and motivate further research involving active control groups, alternative forms of web-based treatments as a control, and long-term follow-up of the effects.
Highlights
Even though stress may be adaptive in the short run, prolonged stress reactions may have adverse effects on many different aspects of physical and mental health [1,2] and on cognitive performance [3]
The pre- (1 week) and post-treatment (2 week) scores for the treatment and control group are presented in Table 1, together with effect size estimates (Cohen’s d) based on Cohen’s [26] formula correcting for correlations of pre-post-test scores
To test the assumption that the reductions of psychological distress observed at the mean level were attributable to increased mindfulness skills rather than some more general treatment factor, we examined the associations between gain in scores on the mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ) and reductions in symptom scores at the individual level
Summary
Even though stress may be adaptive in the short run, prolonged stress reactions may have adverse effects on many different aspects of physical and mental health [1,2] and on cognitive performance [3]. The high prevalence of stress-related conditions is of considerable concern both from viewpoint of the burdens on the society they cause (i.e., in terms of health-care costs, costs for sick leave) and from viewpoint of the individuals at risk Psychotherapeutic treatment methods, such as forms of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are, apart from to medication, available as tools to reduce stress. The second, orientation to experience involves adopting a particular orientation towards the present moment and characterized by curiosity, openness, and acceptance. These attitudes provide a non-elaborative awareness to the experience as well as a decentered, and more insightful, perspective on thoughts and feelings. To the extent that mindfulness requires both control of cognitive processes and the ability to monitor the stream of consciousness it may be regarded as a meta-cognitive process [5]
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