Trial reportInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
Feasibility, Effectiveness, and Mechanisms of a Brief Mindfulness- and Compassion-Based Program to Reduce Stress in University Students: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of self-compassion interventions in reducing anxiety and depression among university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2026Pooled it
- The efficacy of compassion and self-compassion training programs for healthcare university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC medical education · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of an Online Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Improving Mental Health in Undergraduate Students: A Randomized Clinical Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Trial
- Comparing the effects of sitting meditation and body scan on working memory in undergraduate healthcare students: a single-blind randomised trial.BMC psychology · 2026Trial
- Testing the Efficacy of a Brief, Self-Guided Mindfulness Ecological Momentary Intervention on Emotion Regulation and Self-Compassion in Social Anxiety Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mental health · 2024Trial
- How often should I meditate? A randomized trial examining the role of meditation frequency when total amount of meditation is held constant.Journal of counseling psychology · 2024Trial
- Challenges to Compassion for Patients Considered 'Difficult' to Care for: A Qualitative Content Analysis.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Article
- A Meta-Analysis Examining the Efficacy and Predictors of Change in Mindfulness- and Self-Compassion-Based Interventions (MBSCIs) in Reducing Psychological Distress Among University Students.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2026Review
- Associations Among Depression, Self-Compassion, and Learning Burnout in Nursing Students: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study.Depression and anxiety · 2026Article
- Adaptation and Validation of the Compassionate Capacity Scale for Portuguese Healthcare Students (CCS-PHS).Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The impact of reflective practice on the development of nursing undergraduate students.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Effects of physical exercise on mindfulness level among female college students: the mediating effect of mobile phone addiction.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Emotion regulation skills as a mediator of STEM teachers' stress, well-being, and burnout.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Mental Health and Psychological Quality of Life among University Students: A GRADE-Assessed Systematic Review.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2024Review
- Modelling Well-Being with Mindfulness Intervention on Bottom- and Middle-40% Income Earners in Malaysia.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Effectiveness of attachment-based compassion therapy to reduce psychological distress in university students: a randomised controlled trial protocol.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- How mindfulness, self-compassion, and experiential avoidance are related to perceived stress in a sample of university students.PloS one · 2023Article
- Experiential Avoidance in Primary Care Providers: Psychometric Properties of the Brazilian "Acceptance and Action Questionnaire" (AAQ-II) and Its Criterion Validity on Mood Disorder-Related Psychological Distress.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The impact of COVID-19 upon student radiographers and clinical training in Latin America.Radiography (London, England : 1995) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The mental health of university students is a public health concern, as psychopathology has significantly risen among this population. Mindfulness-based programs may support their mental health, though more research is needed. We used a two-armed pilot randomized controlled trial to study the feasibility, preliminary effectiveness, and potential mechanisms of a brief 6-week instructor-led mindfulness- and compassion-based program (MCBP for University Life) on perceived stress and psychological distress. Thirty undergraduate psychology students participated (15 in the intervention group, and 15 as wait-list controls). Those in the intervention arm engaged well with the course and formal at-home practice, attending at least five sessions and meditating between 4-6 days per week. Significant improvements in perceived stress, psychological distress, mindfulness skills, decentering, self-compassion, and experiential avoidance were found at the end of the intervention, while the wait-list group remained unchanged. There were significant differences between the two groups in those variables at post-test, favoring the intervention arm with major effects. Reductions in stress were mediated by improvements in mindfulness skills, decentering, and self-compassion; meanwhile reductions in psychological distress were mediated by improvements in decentering. These results suggest that this intervention might be feasible and effective for university students, but more high-quality research is needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.