AUTHOR=Juul Lise , Brorsen Eva , Gøtzsche Katinka , Nielsen Birgitte Lund , Fjorback Lone Overby 

TITLE=The Effects of a Mindfulness Program on Mental Health in Students at an Undergraduate Program for Teacher Education: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Real-Life

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.722771

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.722771

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of a mindfulness program including Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on the mental health of student teachers when offered at their educational institution in a real-life context.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A parallel randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted among self-selected student teachers at a Danish undergraduate program for teacher education in the autumns of 2019 and 2020. Participation was not recommended in case of (1) clinical depression or a diagnosis of psychosis or schizophrenia, (2) abuse of alcohol, drugs, and/or medicine. Randomization was performed by a Statistician who was blinded to the identity of the students. Data was collected using self-reported questionnaires. The primary outcome was a change in perceived stress 3 months from baseline. Secondary outcome measures were symptoms of anxiety and depression, well-being, resilience, mindfulness, and thoughts and feelings during rest. The effects were analyzed according to the intention-to-treat principle using mixed-effect linear regression models. Mediating effects of mindfulness skills on the mental health outcomes were explored using structural equation modeling.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> The study group included 67 student teachers with 34 allocated to the intervention group (median age: 25 years; women: <italic>n</italic> = 24, 71%); and 33 students (median age: 25 years; women: <italic>n</italic> = 25, 76%) allocated to a waiting list control group. At baseline, mean Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores were 18.88 (<italic>SD</italic>: 5.75) in the intervention group and 17.91 (<italic>SD</italic>: 6.36) in the waiting list control group. A total of 56 students completed the questionnaire at a 3-month follow-up (28 in both the intervention- and the control group). Statistically significant effects of the intervention were found on perceived stress, symptoms of anxiety and depression, well-being, and on three of seven resting-state dimensions. No effects were found on resilience or mindfulness. Statistically significant mediated effects via resting-state dimensions were found.</p><p><bold>Conclusion</bold> The findings suggested that offering a mindfulness program at an undergraduate program for teacher education could significantly improve the mental health among self-selected students within 3 months. Results of mediation analysis supported the hypothesis that some of the effects might be explained by reduced distracting thoughts.</p><p><bold>Clinical Trial Registration:</bold> [<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">www.ClinicalTrials.gov</ext-link>], identifier [NCT04558099].</p>