Gender differences in the benefits of meditation training on attentional blink

The effectiveness of brief mindfulness training in reducing test anxiety among high school students

BACKGROUND

For many high school students, test anxiety is a prevalent issue that adversely affects their exam performance. Previous research has explored the effectiveness of mindfulness training in alleviating test anxiety; however, the lack of real-life exam scenarios and lengthy training sessions has limited its application. This study examines the effects of a brief, five-day mindfulness training and immediate session on enhancing students' mindfulness levels and reducing their test anxiety.

METHODS

The participants were recruited and divided into an experimental group (n = 29) and a control group (n = 32). The experimental group underwent a daily eight-minute mindfulness training for five consecutive days, while the control group engaged in a passive waiting period. To assess changes in mindfulness levels and exam performance, two exams were administered before and after the five-day mindfulness intervention, accompanied by the completion of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. To evaluate changes in test anxiety levels, the State Anxiety Inventory was filled out on days 1, 3, and 5 of the training.

RESULTS

After five days of mindfulness training, the mindfulness group showed significant improvements in overall mindfulness levels (particularly in observing and describing skills), a significant reduction in test anxiety and notable improvements in exam performance. Furthermore, the effects on test anxiety were observed after just one training session.

CONCLUSIONS

The study demonstrates that a brief, five-day mindfulness training can significantly enhance mindfulness levels, reduce test anxiety, and improve exam performance in high school students. The positive effects on test anxiety were noticeable after a single session.

Psychometric assessment of a Chinese version of a mindfulness practice quality measurement tool

BACKGROUND

Mindfulness training is increasingly popular in China. The challenge of evaluating mindfulness practice objectively and accurately has attracted research attention. However, previous studies in China focused primarily on the quantity rather than the quality of mindfulness training. The Practice Quality - Mindfulness (PQ-M) can provide a solution. Consequently, the present study aimed to validate and assess the internal consistency and construct validity of the Chinese version of the Practice Quality - Mindfulness (Ch-PQ-M) in a non-clinical sample.

METHODS

One hundred and sixty participants (female:81) were recruited to practice 20 min of mindfulness training daily for four consecutive days and to complete the Ch-PQ-M, the State Anxiety Inventory, and the Peace of Mind Scale immediately after each mindfulness practice. The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale were administered pre- and post- 4-day treatment. Construct validity (confirmatory factor analysis), internal consistency, test-retest reliability, predictive validity and construct validity were examined.

RESULTS

Ch-PQ-M demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the established two-factor model (perseverance and receptivity). The Ch-PQ-M attention score was significantly associated with changes of trait anxiety. It improved with short-term mindfulness practice. The perseverance score consistently correlates with scores on peace of mind, state anxiety, trait anxiety, and observe and nonreactivity. The receptivity score remains consistently correlated with the nonjudging. These findings suggest that Ch-PQ-M is a valid instrument for evaluating individual mindfulness quality for a single-session practice.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that Ch-PQ-M (especially for the Ch-PQ-M perseverance score) has acceptable psychometric properties and is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing mindfulness practice quality in the Chinese cultural context.

Depression, parenting and the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: results from three nationally representative cross-sectional surveys

OBJECTIVES

Depression is associated with problems in functioning in many aspects of life, including parenting. COVID-19 has increased risk factors for depression. We investigated the prevalence of depression among parents during the pandemic and the association with dysfunctional parenting.

DESIGN

Canadian nationwide cross-sectional study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

The 2020 and 2021 Surveys on COVID-19 and Mental Health (SCMH) and the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) (2015‒2019). Responding sample sizes for parents were 3121 for the 2020-SCMH; 1574 for the 2021-SCMH and 6076 for the CCHS.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES

All three surveys collected information on symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD). The SCMH measured harsh parenting.

RESULTS

Based on data from the 2021-SCMH collected during wave 3 of COVID-19, 14.4% of fathers and 21.2% of mothers screened positive for MDD. These prevalence estimates were similar to those from the 2020-SCMH during wave 2, but at least two times higher than pre-COVID-19 estimates from the CCHS. Multivariate analyses revealed a linear association between MDD and harsh parenting. COVID-19-related stressors were associated with harsh parenting. Among mothers, feeling lonely or isolated because of COVID-19 was a risk factor for harsh parenting; among fathers, being a front-line worker was a risk factor. Meditation was a protective factor for mothers.

CONCLUSIONS

After years of stability, the prevalence of MDD increased substantially among Canadian parents during the pandemic. Ongoing monitoring is vital to determine if elevated levels of depression persist because chronic depression increases the likelihood of negative child outcomes. Programmes aimed at addressing depression and bolstering parenting skills are needed as families continue to face stressors associated with COVID-19.

Emotion Self-Regulation in Neurotic Students: A Pilot Mindfulness-Based Intervention to Assess Its Effectiveness through Brain Signals and Behavioral Data

Neuroticism has recently received increased attention in the psychology field due to the finding of high implications of neuroticism on an individual’s life and broader public health. This study aims to investigate the effect of a brief 6-week breathing-based mindfulness intervention (BMI) on undergraduate neurotic students’ emotion regulation. We acquired data of their psychological states, physiological changes, and electroencephalogram (EEG), before and after BMI, in resting states and tasks. Through behavioral analysis, we found the students’ anxiety and stress levels significantly reduced after BMI, with p-values of 0.013 and 0.027, respectively. Furthermore, a significant difference between students in emotion regulation strategy, that is, suppression, was also shown. The EEG analysis demonstrated significant differences between students before and after MI in resting states and tasks. Fp1 and O2 channels were identified as the most significant channels in evaluating the effect of BMI. The potential of these channels for classifying (single-channel-based) before and after BMI conditions during eyes-opened and eyes-closed baseline trials were displayed by a good performance in terms of accuracy (~77%), sensitivity (76–80%), specificity (73–77%), and area-under-the-curve (AUC) (0.66–0.8) obtained by k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms. Mindfulness can thus improve the self-regulation of the emotional state of neurotic students based on the psychometric and electrophysiological analyses conducted in this study.

A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis of Mindfulness and Meditation Research from 1900 to 2021

This study comprehensively summarizes research in the field of meditation, especially mindfulness meditation from 1900 to 2021, by analyzing the knowledge map through CiteSpace and VOSviewer software. Using "mindfulness *" or "meditation *" as the topic, articles included in the Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index were searched in the web of science core database, resulting in the selection of 19,752 articles. Over half a century ago, Deikman published the field's first article in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease in 1963, and publications have soared in subsequent decades. The USA is in the core position in terms of global collaboration, total publication numbers, and total citations. The Mindfulness journal ranked first for the most published articles and citations. "The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being," written by Brown and Ryan, was the most cited article. Mindfulness, meditation, depression, intervention, stress reduction, stress, and anxiety are the top co-occurrence keywords. The timeline of cluster analysis discloses that before 2010, hypertension, cancer, mindfulness, generalized anxiety disorder, and other topics received great attention. In the decade since 2010, scholars have shown interest in meta-analysis, attention, and self-assessment, and keen attention to mindfulness-based interventions. These findings provide an important foundation to direct future research.

The Effect of a Mindfulness-Based Education Program on Brain Waves and the Autonomic Nervous System in University Students

BACKGROUND

Mindfulness, defined as the awareness emerging from purposefully paying attention to the present moment, has been shown to be effective in reducing stress and, thus, promoting psychological well-being. This study investigated the effects of a mindfulness-based education program on mindfulness, brain waves, and the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in university students in Korea.

METHODS

This study is a quantitative and experimental research with a single-group pre-post design. Six sessions of mindfulness-based intervention were applied. In total, 42 students completed a mindfulness questionnaire before and after the intervention, and 28 among them completed pre-intervention and post-intervention measures of brain waves and ANS.

RESULTS

The level of mindfulness increased in the participants after intervention. Regarding brain waves, the alpha and theta waves increased, but the beta waves decreased. There was no significant difference in the ANS, presenting no change in heart rate variability.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified the positive effects of the mindfulness-based education program for university students. The findings indicate that this program may help students not only relax, but also generate a mindfulness state in stressful situations, potentially leading to a successful university life. This study can be used as a basis for quality improvement and sustainability of mindfulness-based education programs for university students.