Impact of mindfulness-based brief practices on optimism, internal shame, and perceived stress in college students

Abstract

The present quasi-experimental study aimed to analyse the impact of brief meditative practices based on mindfulness in the optimism, internal shame, and perceived stress of first year students of a higher education course in Social Sciences. Twenty-seven students were not randomly assigned to the control group (n = 12) and the experimental group (n = 15). The intervention was developed in 15 sessions, using meditative practices. The students (experimental group and control group) were evaluated before and after the intervention through a battery of tests. The results point to the effectiveness of the intervention, considering the significant changes in internal shame, optimism and stress in the experimental group compared to the control group. In fact, there was a decrease in internal shame and perceived stress, and an increase in optimism. Implications for research and practice are discussed.