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

Ana María González-Martín; Ana María González-Martín; Agustín Aibar-Almazán; Yulieth Rivas-Campo; Yolanda Castellote-Caballero; María del Carmen Carcelén-Fraile

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1284632

Frontiers in Public Health (Dec 2023)

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

Ana María González-Martín,
Ana María González-Martín,
Agustín Aibar-Almazán,
Yulieth Rivas-Campo,
Yolanda Castellote-Caballero,
María del Carmen Carcelén-Fraile

Affiliations

Ana María González-Martín: Department of Education and Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Atlántico Medio, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Ana María González-Martín: Department of Psychology, Higher Education Center for Teaching and Educational Research, Madrid, Spain
Agustín Aibar-Almazán: Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, Jaén, Spain
Yulieth Rivas-Campo: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University of San Buenaventura-Cali, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
Yolanda Castellote-Caballero: Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, Jaén, Spain
María del Carmen Carcelén-Fraile: Department of Education and Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Atlántico Medio, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1284632
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 11

Abstract

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ObjectivesThis systematic review and meta-analysis was to analyze the effects of a mindfulness program on mental health in university students.MethodsA 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.ResultsWe 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.ConclusionThis systematic review and meta-analysis found that mindfulness is effective for improving the mental health of college students.Systematic Review Registrationidentifier: CRD42023441453.

Published in Frontiers in Public Health

ISSN: 2296-2565 (Online)
Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Medicine: Public aspects of medicine
Website: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health

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