Mental health benefits of a brief online mindfulness intervention for university students: a randomised controlled trial

Introduction: Mindfulness has been shown to be an effective intervention to improve the mental health of various populations. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of a brief online mindfulness intervention on and anxiety, depression and rumination in university students. Method: The sample consisted of 486 participants including 205 (42%) university students in the experimental group and 281 (58%) in the control group. For 28 days, the experimental group practiced mindfulness meditation once a week during regular class hours and followed a daily practice program. The control group was involved in regular class activities without practicing mindfulness. The outcomes were assessed at pre and post intervention using well-validated measures of mindfulness (Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire; FFMQ), anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; STAI-Y), depression (Beck Depression Inventory; BDI), and rumination (Ruminative Response Scale; RRS).The data was analysed using mixed model ANCOVA while controlling for baseline mindfulness levels as co-variate. Results: Our results demonstrated the effectiveness of a brief online mindfulness intervention in reducing anxiety, depression, and rumination of university students. Moreover, the initial trait mindfulness predicted the effectiveness of the brief mindfulness intervention at individual level, and was inversely linked to anxiety, depression, and rumination. Discussion: Our findings have the potential to make a significant contribution to the field of public health by providing valuable insights into the impact of a brief online mindfulness intervention for the mental health of university students.