Abstract
Objectives
There is an increasing recognition of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) as a promising way to reduce burnout. However, inconsistent results were found on the effect among college students. In addition, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The aims of this study were to explore the effect of a mindfulness-based training program on burnout in college student population and to examine if changes in mindfulness mediate the intervention effect.
Method
A total of 128 college students (M = 21.36 years, SD = 2.76 years) were randomized into an intervention group (n = 64) or a wait-list control group (n = 64). The intervention consisted of eight sections of mindfulness training courses. Measures on mindfulness and burnout were administered at the baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up.
Results
Compared to those in the control group, participants in the intervention group reported a significant increase in mindfulness and a decrease in burnout both at post-intervention (mindfulness: F = 22.41, p < 0.01, partial η2 = 0.15; burnout: F = 8.24, p < 0.01, partial η2 = 0.06) and 3-month follow-up (mindfulness: F = 16.29, p < 0.01, partial η2 = 0.12; burnout: F = 9.24, p < 0.01, partial η2 = 0.07). Mediation analyses demonstrated that the increase in mindfulness fully mediated the intervention effect on burnout.
Conclusions
Mindfulness-based training programs can effectively reduce burnout among college students, and the effect appears to be mediated by changes in mindfulness levels.
Preregistration
This study is not preregistered.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author.
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This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (Grant Number GF21C090006) and the Humanities and Social Sciences Youth Foundation, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (Grant Number 22YJCZH209).
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Ruochen Gan: conceptualization, investigation, methodology, project administration, formal analysis, writing — original draft. Jiang Xue: writing — review and editing. Shulin Chen: funding acquisition, writing — review and editing. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
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Gan, R., Xue, J. & Chen, S. Do Mindfulness-Based Interventions Reduce Burnout of College Students in China? A Randomized Controlled Trial. Mindfulness 14, 880–890 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02092-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02092-w