Differences in mindfulness and other coping outcomes among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-modeling approach
Description
Young adults are at significant risk for increased substance abuse, worsening mental health issues, and elevated suicidal behaviors. These risks have increased since the beginning of the COVID -19 pandemic. Self-help interventions (e.g., mindfulness meditation) are available to counteract these negative effects on mental health. Mindfulness meditation has become popular as a tool for stress reduction and emotional regulation. There are significant health benefits to mindfulness-based interventions, such as increased awareness. This study’s purpose was to gain greater understanding of whether mindfulness is helpful to mental health among young adults during COVID-19. Quantitative analyses found: (1) Current employment predicted greater adherence to formal mindful practice and trait mindfulness; (2) formal practice was associated with trait mindfulness; (3) adherence to informal practice yielded a significant inverse association with trait anxiety; and (4) avoidance coping acted as mediator between both employment status and college experience (as exogenous variables), and trait anxiety, generalized anxiety/depression, and COVID-19 stress (as endogenous variables).