A Nonrandomized Trial of a Brief-Mindfulness Intervention for Emerging Adults Experiencing Anxious and Depressive Symptoms

• In Event: Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Topic - Prevention and Interventions

Abstract

Background: Emerging adulthood is a critical period of mental health development (Arnett, Žukauskiene, & Sugimura, 2014). Emerging adults (EA) experience mental illness and elevated distress, particularly depressive and anxious symptoms (Ferro, Gorter, & Boyle, 2015). Concern surrounding EA mental health difficulties has resulted in a shift from reactive to preventative mental health services. Early-stage evidence-based treatment is needed to enhance coping and prevent mental health problems among EA (McGorry Purcell, Goldstone, & Amminger, 2011). Mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) have emerged as a potential adaptive and feasible treatment to address these difficulties. Recent studies suggest a beneficial role of brief MBI (bMBI) in addressing mental health symptom burden and well-being, as well as reducing acute stress symptoms (Bergin & Pakenham, 2016; Winnebeck, Fissler, Gärtner, Chadwick, & Barnhofer, 2017).

Objectives: We tested the efficacy of a bMBI for EA with the objective of assessing: 1) improvements in mental health outcomes among participants immediately following the intervention and at one-month follow-up, and 2) whether initial self-compassion scores moderated overall health improvement.

Method: Participants included undergraduate students at an urban university (N = 45, Mage = 20.59 years, 91% female) experiencing mood and/or anxiety symptoms. Participants attended a one-month mindfulness group during the winter term. Measures of psychological distress (i.e., anxious symptoms: 7-item version of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder; depressive symptoms: 9-item version of the Patient Health Questionnaire; perceived stress: 10-item Perceived Stress Scale) and wellbeing (i.e., mental wellbeing: 14-item Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale; self-compassion: 12-item Self-Compassion Scale–Short Form) were collected at baseline, pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and at one-month follow-up. Linear mixed-effects models were conducted to directly examine the predictions relating to change in psychological distress and wellbeing outcomes.

Results: The retention rate associated with this study was 76.36% (23.63% dropout). From pre- to one-month following treatment, analyses showed: 1) lower levels of anxious symptoms (p < .01, d = 1.30), depressive symptoms (p < .01, d = .62) and perceived stress (p < .01, d = .99), and increased wellbeing (p < .01, d = 1.12) and self-compassion (p < .01, d = .56); and 2) high pre-intervention self-compassion moderated anxious symptoms at mid-intervention (p < .01), and anxious and depressive symptoms (p < .01) and wellbeing (p < .05) at post-intervention..

Conclusions and Future Directions: As one of the first baseline-controlled efficacy studies of bMBI for EA, findings support the use of this brief program as a possible early intervention for EA with anxious and depressive symptoms. In addition, this study found that increases in self-compassion were strongly associated with mental wellbeing and reduced distress for participants, in line with the relevant literature. Future studies should be adequately powered to investigate the mediating role of self-compassion to better understand mechanisms of change in this mindfulness intervention.

Authors

• Benjamin David Diplock, York University
  Presenting Author

• Steven Selchen, Sunnybrook Research Institute
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jennine S Rawana, York University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Stephanie G. Craig, York University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Debra Pepler, York University
  Non-Presenting Author