The impact of a mindfulness meditation programme on the coping strategies of college students
The impact of a mindfulness meditation programme on the coping strategies of college students
Main Article Content
Abstract
Coping can be defined as the use of cognitive actions or specific behavioral actions to handle difficult and stressful situations, as well as daily problems. On the other hand, previous research shows that mindfulness meditation (MM) can be considered as a means of coping with stressful events in everyday life. The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of a MM program on the coping strategies to manage stress in a population of university students. Randomized controlled study. A sample of sixty-one students from the Faculty of Physiotherapy of A Coruña (Spain) participated in this study. 30 were assigned to a 12 weeks MM program, and 31 were assigned to the control group. The scale of coping strategies (Cabanach, Valle, Rodriguez, Piñeiro, & Freire, 2010), that measures both cognitive and behavioral ways of coping with academic stress, was used. The results indicate that the participants of the experimental group improved their coping strategies after their participation in the program, particularly the positive reappraisal and planning dimensions (a statistically significant difference was observed). In control group there were no pre-post changes. Mindfulness meditation can be an effective method to cope with the stress in university students of Physiotherapy.
References
Arch, J.J., y Craske, M.G. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness: Emotion regulation following a focused
breathing induction. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(12), 1849-1858.
Aspinwall, L.G., y Taylor, S.E. (1997). A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping.
Psychological Bulletin, 121(3), 417.
Bishop, S.R. (2002). What do we really know about mindfulness-based stress reduction? Psychosomatic
Medicine, 64(1), 71-83.
Bishop, S.R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N.D., Carmody, J., … Devins, G. (2004).
Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice,
11(3), 230-240.
Broderick, P.C. (2005). Mindfulness and coping with dysphoric mood: Contrasts with rumination and
distraction. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 29(5), 501-510.
Cabanach, R., Valle, A., Rodriguez, S., Piñeiro, I., y Freire, C. (2010). Academic stress scale. Stress
coping scale. Revista Iberoamericana de Psicología y Salud, 1(1), 51-64.
Carlson, L.E., Speca, M., Patel, K.D., y Goodey, E. (2003). Mindfulness? based stress reduction in relation
to quality of life, mood, symptoms of stress, and immune parameters in breast and prostate
cancer outpatients. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65(4), 571-581.
Charoensukmongkol, P. (2013). The contributions of mindfulness meditation on burnout, coping strategy,
and job satisfaction: Evidence from thailand. Journal of Management and Organization, 19(5),
544-558.
Desrosiers, A., Vine, V., Klemanski, D.H., y Nolen? Hoeksema, S. (2013). Mindfulness and emotion
regulation in depression and anxiety: Common and distinct mechanisms of action. Depression
and Anxiety, 30(7), 654-661.
Farb, N.A., Anderson, A.K., y Segal, Z.V. (2012). The mindful brain and emotion regulation in mood
disorders. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry: Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie, 57(2), 70-77.
Feldman, G., Hayes, A., Kumar, S., Greeson, J., y Laurenceau, J. (2007). Mindfulness and emotion
regulation: The development and initial validation of the cognitive and affective mindfulness
scale-revised (CMS-R). Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 29(3), 177-
190.
Folkman, S., y Moskowitz, J.T. (2004). Coping: Pitfalls and promise. Annual Review Psychology, 55, 745-
774.
Forsyth, L., y Hayes, L.L. (2014). The effects of acceptance of thoughts, mindful awareness of breathing,
and spontaneous coping on an experimentally induced pain task. Psychological Record, 64(3),
447-455.
Frewen, P.A., Evans, E.M., Maraj, N., Dozois, D.J., y Partridge, K. (2008). Letting go: Mindfulness and
negative automatic thinking. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32(6), 758-774.
Garland, E., Gaylord, S., y Fredrickson, B. (2011). Positive reappraisal mediates the stress-reductive
effects of mindfulness: An upward spiral process. Mindfulness, 2(1), 59-67.
Garland, E., Gaylord, S., y Park, J. (2009). The role of mindfulness in positive reappraisal. Explore (NY),
5(1), 37-44.
Garland, E.L., Hanley, A., Farb, N.A., y Froeliger, B. (2013). State mindfulness during meditation predicts
enhanced cognitive reappraisal. Mindfulness, 6(2), 234-242.
Halland, E., Vive De, M., Solhaug, I., Friborg, O., Rosenvinge, J., Tyssen, R., … Bjørndal, A. (2015).
Mindfulness training improves problem-focused coping in psychology and medical students:
Results from a randomized controlled trial. College Student Journal, 49(3), 387.
Huston, D.C., Garland, E.L., y Farb, N.A. (2011). Mechanisms of mindfulness in communication training.
Journal of Applied Communication Research, 39(4), 406-421.
Jacobs, S., y Blustein, D. (2008). Mindfulness as a coping mechanism for employment uncertainty. The
Career Development Quarterly, 57(2), 174.
Josefsson, T., Lindwall, M., y Broberg, A.G. (2014). The effects of a short-term mindfulness based
intervention on self-reported mindfulness, decentering, executive attention, psychological
health, and coping style: Examining unique mindfulness effects and mediators. Mindfulness,
5(1), 18-35.
Keng, S., Robins, C.J., Smoski, M.J., Dagenbach, J., y Leary, M.R. (2013). Reappraisal and mindfulness:
A comparison of subjective effects and cognitive costs. Behaviour Research and Therapy,
51(12), 899-904.
Lazarus, R.S., y Folkman, S. (1984). Stress. Appraisal, and Coping. New York: Springer.
Lind, A.B., Delmar, C., y Nielsen, K. (2014). Searching for existential security: A prospective qualitative
study on the influence of mindfulness therapy on experienced stress and coping strategies
among patients with somatoform disorders. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 77(6), 516-
521.
Lutz, A., Slagter, H.A., Dunne, J.D., y Davidson, R.J. (2008). Attention regulation and monitoring in
meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(4), 163-169.
Palmer, A., y Rodger, S. (2009). Mindfulness, stress, and coping among university students. Canadian
Journal of Counselling, 43(3), 198.
Rogojanski, J., Vettese, L., y Antony, M. (2011). Coping with cigarette cravings: Comparison of
suppression versus mindfulness-based strategies. Mindfulness, 2(1), 14-26.
Stone, A.A., Kennedy-Moore, E., y Neale, J.M. (1995). Association between daily coping and end-of-day
mood. Health Psychology, 14(4), 341.
Teasdale, J.D., Segal, Z., y Williams, J.M.G. (1995). How does cognitive therapy prevent depressive
relapse and why should attentional control (mindfulness) training help? Behaviour Research
and Therapy, 33(1), 25-39.
Trousselard, M., Steiler, D., Claverie, D., y Canini, F. (2012). Relationship between mindfulness and
psychological adjustment in soldiers according to their confrontation with repeated
deployments and stressors. Psychology, 3(01), 100.
Troy, A.S., Shallcross, A.J., Davis, T.S., y Mauss, I.B. (2013). History of mindfulness-based cognitive
therapy is associated with increased cognitive reappraisal ability. Mindfulness, 4(3), 213-222.
Trungpa, C. (1976). The foundations of mindfulness. London: Shambhala Publications. INC.
Vidrine, J.I., Businelle, M.S., Reitzel, L.R., Cao, Y., Cinciripini, P.M., Marcus, M.T., y Wetter, D.W.
(2015). Coping mediates the association of mindfulness with psychological stress, affect, and
depression among smokers preparing to quit. Mindfulness, 6(3), 433-443.
Weinstein, N., Brown, K., y Ryan, R. (2009). A multi-method examination of the effects of mindflness on
stress attribution, coping, and emotional well-being. Journal of Research in Personalitu, 43(3),
374-385.
breathing induction. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(12), 1849-1858.
Aspinwall, L.G., y Taylor, S.E. (1997). A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping.
Psychological Bulletin, 121(3), 417.
Bishop, S.R. (2002). What do we really know about mindfulness-based stress reduction? Psychosomatic
Medicine, 64(1), 71-83.
Bishop, S.R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N.D., Carmody, J., … Devins, G. (2004).
Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice,
11(3), 230-240.
Broderick, P.C. (2005). Mindfulness and coping with dysphoric mood: Contrasts with rumination and
distraction. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 29(5), 501-510.
Cabanach, R., Valle, A., Rodriguez, S., Piñeiro, I., y Freire, C. (2010). Academic stress scale. Stress
coping scale. Revista Iberoamericana de Psicología y Salud, 1(1), 51-64.
Carlson, L.E., Speca, M., Patel, K.D., y Goodey, E. (2003). Mindfulness? based stress reduction in relation
to quality of life, mood, symptoms of stress, and immune parameters in breast and prostate
cancer outpatients. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65(4), 571-581.
Charoensukmongkol, P. (2013). The contributions of mindfulness meditation on burnout, coping strategy,
and job satisfaction: Evidence from thailand. Journal of Management and Organization, 19(5),
544-558.
Desrosiers, A., Vine, V., Klemanski, D.H., y Nolen? Hoeksema, S. (2013). Mindfulness and emotion
regulation in depression and anxiety: Common and distinct mechanisms of action. Depression
and Anxiety, 30(7), 654-661.
Farb, N.A., Anderson, A.K., y Segal, Z.V. (2012). The mindful brain and emotion regulation in mood
disorders. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry: Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie, 57(2), 70-77.
Feldman, G., Hayes, A., Kumar, S., Greeson, J., y Laurenceau, J. (2007). Mindfulness and emotion
regulation: The development and initial validation of the cognitive and affective mindfulness
scale-revised (CMS-R). Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 29(3), 177-
190.
Folkman, S., y Moskowitz, J.T. (2004). Coping: Pitfalls and promise. Annual Review Psychology, 55, 745-
774.
Forsyth, L., y Hayes, L.L. (2014). The effects of acceptance of thoughts, mindful awareness of breathing,
and spontaneous coping on an experimentally induced pain task. Psychological Record, 64(3),
447-455.
Frewen, P.A., Evans, E.M., Maraj, N., Dozois, D.J., y Partridge, K. (2008). Letting go: Mindfulness and
negative automatic thinking. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32(6), 758-774.
Garland, E., Gaylord, S., y Fredrickson, B. (2011). Positive reappraisal mediates the stress-reductive
effects of mindfulness: An upward spiral process. Mindfulness, 2(1), 59-67.
Garland, E., Gaylord, S., y Park, J. (2009). The role of mindfulness in positive reappraisal. Explore (NY),
5(1), 37-44.
Garland, E.L., Hanley, A., Farb, N.A., y Froeliger, B. (2013). State mindfulness during meditation predicts
enhanced cognitive reappraisal. Mindfulness, 6(2), 234-242.
Halland, E., Vive De, M., Solhaug, I., Friborg, O., Rosenvinge, J., Tyssen, R., … Bjørndal, A. (2015).
Mindfulness training improves problem-focused coping in psychology and medical students:
Results from a randomized controlled trial. College Student Journal, 49(3), 387.
Huston, D.C., Garland, E.L., y Farb, N.A. (2011). Mechanisms of mindfulness in communication training.
Journal of Applied Communication Research, 39(4), 406-421.
Jacobs, S., y Blustein, D. (2008). Mindfulness as a coping mechanism for employment uncertainty. The
Career Development Quarterly, 57(2), 174.
Josefsson, T., Lindwall, M., y Broberg, A.G. (2014). The effects of a short-term mindfulness based
intervention on self-reported mindfulness, decentering, executive attention, psychological
health, and coping style: Examining unique mindfulness effects and mediators. Mindfulness,
5(1), 18-35.
Keng, S., Robins, C.J., Smoski, M.J., Dagenbach, J., y Leary, M.R. (2013). Reappraisal and mindfulness:
A comparison of subjective effects and cognitive costs. Behaviour Research and Therapy,
51(12), 899-904.
Lazarus, R.S., y Folkman, S. (1984). Stress. Appraisal, and Coping. New York: Springer.
Lind, A.B., Delmar, C., y Nielsen, K. (2014). Searching for existential security: A prospective qualitative
study on the influence of mindfulness therapy on experienced stress and coping strategies
among patients with somatoform disorders. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 77(6), 516-
521.
Lutz, A., Slagter, H.A., Dunne, J.D., y Davidson, R.J. (2008). Attention regulation and monitoring in
meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(4), 163-169.
Palmer, A., y Rodger, S. (2009). Mindfulness, stress, and coping among university students. Canadian
Journal of Counselling, 43(3), 198.
Rogojanski, J., Vettese, L., y Antony, M. (2011). Coping with cigarette cravings: Comparison of
suppression versus mindfulness-based strategies. Mindfulness, 2(1), 14-26.
Stone, A.A., Kennedy-Moore, E., y Neale, J.M. (1995). Association between daily coping and end-of-day
mood. Health Psychology, 14(4), 341.
Teasdale, J.D., Segal, Z., y Williams, J.M.G. (1995). How does cognitive therapy prevent depressive
relapse and why should attentional control (mindfulness) training help? Behaviour Research
and Therapy, 33(1), 25-39.
Trousselard, M., Steiler, D., Claverie, D., y Canini, F. (2012). Relationship between mindfulness and
psychological adjustment in soldiers according to their confrontation with repeated
deployments and stressors. Psychology, 3(01), 100.
Troy, A.S., Shallcross, A.J., Davis, T.S., y Mauss, I.B. (2013). History of mindfulness-based cognitive
therapy is associated with increased cognitive reappraisal ability. Mindfulness, 4(3), 213-222.
Trungpa, C. (1976). The foundations of mindfulness. London: Shambhala Publications. INC.
Vidrine, J.I., Businelle, M.S., Reitzel, L.R., Cao, Y., Cinciripini, P.M., Marcus, M.T., y Wetter, D.W.
(2015). Coping mediates the association of mindfulness with psychological stress, affect, and
depression among smokers preparing to quit. Mindfulness, 6(3), 433-443.
Weinstein, N., Brown, K., y Ryan, R. (2009). A multi-method examination of the effects of mindflness on
stress attribution, coping, and emotional well-being. Journal of Research in Personalitu, 43(3),
374-385.