Mindfulness to improve the mental health of university students. A systematic review and meta-analysis

Author: Ana María González-Martín1,2, Agustín Aibar-Almazán3, Yulieth Rivas-Campo4, Yolanda Castellote-Caballero3, María Del Carmen Carcelén-Fraile1
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Department of Education and Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Atlántico Medio, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. <sup>2</sup> Department of Psychology, Higher Education Center for Teaching and Educational Research, Madrid, Spain. <sup>3</sup> Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, Jaén, Spain. <sup>4</sup> Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University of San Buenaventura-Cali, Santiago de Cali, Colombia.
Conference/Journal: Front Public Health
Date published: 2023 Dec 4
Other: Volume ID: 11 , Pages: 1284632 , Special Notes: doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1284632. , Word Count: 139


Objectives:
This systematic review and meta-analysis was to analyze the effects of a mindfulness program on mental health in university students.

Methods:
A systematic review was conducted using the databases Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science and CINAHL. The selected studies had to incorporate a mindfulness intervention in university students. The methodological quality of the collected articles was evaluated using the PEDro scale.

Results:
We initially identified 321 studies, of which 21 were included in this review. The interventions focused on mindfulness with durations ranging from 8 weeks to 3 months. The results demonstrated significant effects of a mindfulness intervention on mental health in university students.

Conclusion:
This systematic review and meta-analysis found that mindfulness is effective for improving the mental health of college students.

Systematic review registration:
identifier: CRD42023441453.

Keywords: mental health; meta-analysis; mindfulness; systematic review; university students.

PMID: 38111480 PMCID: PMC10726040 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1284632