title: The evaluation of a mind/body intervention to reduce psychological distress and perceived stress in college students.
abstract: The authors examined the effect of a 6-week mind/body intervention on college students' psychological distress, anxiety, and perception of stress. One hundred twenty-eight students were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 63) or a waitlist control group (n = 65). The experimental group received 6 90-minute group-training sessions in the relaxation response and cognitive behavioral skills. The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Perceived Stress Scale were used to assess the students' psychological state before and after the intervention. Ninety students (70% of the initial sample) completed the postassessment measure. Significantly greater reductions in psychological distress, state anxiety, and perceived stress were found in the experimental group. This brief mind/body training may be useful as a preventive intervention for college students, according to the authors, who called for further research to determine whether the observed treatment effect can be sustained over a longer period of time.
authors.affiliation: Mind/Body Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA. gdeckro@caregroup.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Gloria R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Deckro
authors.forename: Keli M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Ballinger
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoyt
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilcher
authors.forename: Jeffery
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dusek
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Benson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D026441:Mind-Body Therapies; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities