Effects of a brief mindfulness-based intervention on emotional regulation and levels of mindfulness in senior students

Abstract

Mindfulness-based interventions have been applied in diverse populations and achieved mental health benefits. This study examined the effects of a brief mindfulness program for emotional regulation and levels of mindfulness on senior students in Brazil. The intervention consisted of six weekly meetings attended by 30 participants. It is a pre-experimental research, with pre- and post-test comparative and correlation measurements. The preliminary results, which relied on parametrical and non-parametrical tests, revealed a reduction in total emotional regulation difficulties ( p = 0.0001; r = − 0.55). Also, there was an increase in the levels of mindfulness in the subtests for both dimensions under evaluation: “Awareness” ( p = 0.0001; d = 0.77) and “Acceptance” ( p = 0.048; d = 0.37). By associating the amount of meditative practices performed by students with the variables, a significant positive correlation was found with the mindfulness dimension “Awareness” ( r _P = 0.422; p = 0.020), and there was a significant negative correlation with Difficulties in emotion regulation ( r _S = − 0.478; p = 0.008) and with its respective subscales “Non-acceptance” ( r _S = − 0.654; p = 0.0001) and “Clarity” ( r _S = − 0.463; p = 0.010). In conclusion, the application of a brief mindfulness-based intervention is promising in Brazilian university contexts; moreover, it can bring benefits to students, e.g., an increase in emotion regulation as well as in levels of mindfulness. We suggest that further research should use an experimental design and follow-up.