Abstract
Rising perfectionism within post-secondary students could be a reason for their mental health challenges. Recent attention is being given to mindfulness-based interventions as a promising avenue for mitigating high perfectionism and improving socio-emotional well-being. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of 8 weeks of a mindfulness course (compared to a non-meditating control group). Variables of interest were mindfulness, multidimensional perfectionism (self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed), stress, anxiety, self-compassion, and social connectedness. Students self-enrolled into a mindfulness class at a college in Alberta, Canada (n = 15). The experimental sample included ages 18-54 (M = 25.27, SD = 11.47) and were 96.7% female. A control group was recruited from first- and second-year psychology classes (n = 30), ages ranging from 17-38 (M = 21.70, SD = 5.36) and 70% identifying as female. Students completed in person surveys near the beginning of the term and again after 8 weeks. ANOVAs, paired samples t-tests, and linear regression analyses indicated that college students practicing mindfulness evidenced lower perfectionism (self-oriented and other-oriented types), stress, and anxiety, along with higher mindfulness and self-compassion. Perplexing results suggest two routes to social connection, as both the mindfulness and control groups increased in social connection, although for the control group, it seems this was motivated by higher stress and self-criticism. Findings from the current study are impressive (given the small sample size and the high stress time of the post-test). Integrating mindfulness curriculum can enhance socio-emotional well-being for post-secondary students.
Author Information
Anomi G. Bearden, Red Deer Polytechnic, Canada
Blaire Turnbull, University of Calgary, Canada
Carmella Wallace, University of Calgary, Canada
Steven Prosser, Red Deer Polytechnic, Canada
Akeem Vincent, University of Calgary, Canada
Paper Information
Conference: IICE2024
Stream: Mind
This paper is part of the IICE2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Bearden A., Turnbull B., Wallace C., Prosser S., & Vincent A. (2024) The Effects of a Course-Based Mindfulness Intervention on College Student Perfectionism, Stress, Anxiety, Self-Compassion, and Social Connectedness ISSN: 2189-1036 – The IAFOR International Conference on Education – Hawaii 2024 Official Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-1036.2024.16
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-1036.2024.16
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