TY - JOUR
T1 - Low-intensity online mindfulness-based intervention for university students with anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic—A randomized controlled trial with 3-month follow-up
AU - Young, Daniel Kim wan
AU - Carlbring, Per
AU - Ng, Petrus Yat-nam
AU - Cheng, Daphne Yi Ting
AU - Chen, Joseph Qi-rong
AU - Ng, Siu-man
N1 - This research study is funded by Hong Kong Baptist University (Reference no.: RC-FNRA-IG/19-20/SOSC/06).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Objective: This study investigated the effectiveness of a low-intensity online mindfulness-based Intervention (iMBI) for alleviating anxiety in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In a randomized controlled trial involving 134 participants from a local university in Hong Kong, subjects were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n = 67) or the inactive control group (n = 67). The intervention group participated in a low-intensity iMBI comprising 16 online modules and two half-day online mindfulness workshops over an eight-week period. Outcomes were measured via an online platform using standardized assessment scales, including the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Chinese Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire, at three different time points: pre-intervention, post-intervention and at a three-month follow-up. Results: Intent-to-treat analysis using 2 (group) × 3 (time) repeated measures of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that the intervention group, compared to the control group, showed a significant reduction in anxiety symptoms with a medium effect size (Cohen's d = 0.5) and a significant improvement in mindfulness skills with a medium effect size (Cohen's d = 0.5) at post-intervention. The effects of the intervention in reducing anxiety and improving mindfulness persisted at the three-month follow-up. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of the low-intensity iMBI in alleviating anxiety among university students.
AB - Objective: This study investigated the effectiveness of a low-intensity online mindfulness-based Intervention (iMBI) for alleviating anxiety in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In a randomized controlled trial involving 134 participants from a local university in Hong Kong, subjects were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n = 67) or the inactive control group (n = 67). The intervention group participated in a low-intensity iMBI comprising 16 online modules and two half-day online mindfulness workshops over an eight-week period. Outcomes were measured via an online platform using standardized assessment scales, including the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Chinese Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire, at three different time points: pre-intervention, post-intervention and at a three-month follow-up. Results: Intent-to-treat analysis using 2 (group) × 3 (time) repeated measures of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that the intervention group, compared to the control group, showed a significant reduction in anxiety symptoms with a medium effect size (Cohen's d = 0.5) and a significant improvement in mindfulness skills with a medium effect size (Cohen's d = 0.5) at post-intervention. The effects of the intervention in reducing anxiety and improving mindfulness persisted at the three-month follow-up. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of the low-intensity iMBI in alleviating anxiety among university students.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Chinese
KW - Online mindfulness-based intervention
KW - Randomized controlled trial
KW - University students
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173033680&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.invent.2023.100665
DO - 10.1016/j.invent.2023.100665
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85173033680
SN - 2214-7829
VL - 34
JO - Internet Interventions
JF - Internet Interventions
M1 - 100665
ER -