(PS7-D77) Delivering Mindfulness Online for Anxiety and Test Anxiety During a Pandemic (2021) with College Students/emerging Adults Using an RCT and WLC

Research has consistently found the use of mindfulness practices can have beneficial effects on a multitude of conditions: physical, pain management, and emotions. Despite the amount of studies that have shown its positive effects in other areas, mindfulness delivery methods are just starting to be examined. This study aims to observe the relationship between anxiety in college students and the use of daily mindfulness practices (N =16) delivered over a five-week period and online as a result of the COIVD pandemic. The mindfulness practices used were from Jon-Kabat Zinns's MBSR program. There was also a mindfulness music condition (N =15) where students listened to “zen” music for the same period of time that matched the online mindfulness practices.

This RCT used a WLC model to have participants act as a control group that did not engage in any mindfulness practices for the first 5 weeks of the study. The study lasted 10-weeks overall with a WLC group starting the 2^nd 5 weeks into the study. Throughout the 5-week study, mindfulness practices were conducted and engaged in an online format.

Volunteers were recruited out of a university classes at a university in the southeast United State. 31 volunteers in total participated in and completed the study (mindfulness: 16, music mindfulness: 15). Over a five-week period participants were given daily mindfulness practices to complete using a weekly schedule of activities. Using self-reported assessments, students were then evaluated on their general anxiety (STAI), test anxiety (TAI), and mindfulness (FFMQ); students were evaluated at the beginning (pre: 0 weeks), the middle (5 weeks) and at the end (post: 10 weeks) of the study.

Based on the assessments from the beginning and end of the study, the mindfulness group and meditation music showed overall significant changes in Anxiety, Test Anxiety, and overall mindfulness scores. The control condition showed no changes in overall anxiety, test anxiety or DASS scores from the start of the study to the end of the study. Mindfulness scores and sub-scales of anxiety did not show any changes for the control condition.

Due to the observed values of anxiety reduction as found through the self-reported assessments, it is reasonable to believe that there are positive effects on the use of online mindfulness to reduce anxiety and test anxiety in college students. The outcomes from the meditation music group is also a promising outcome that mindfulness may be enhanced through “meditation music”.