Feasibility and acceptability of implementing the Making Friends with Yourself intervention on a college campus

Abstract

Objective: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of Making Friends with Yourself (MFY): A Mindful Self-Compassion Program for Teens and Young Adults with a sample of college students. A secondary objective was to explore changes in psychosocial outcomes. Participants: Twenty-five students (23 females; mean age 20.35 years) enrolled in the 8-week intervention. Methods: Feasibility was measured by attendance and retention of participants; acceptability was determined through analysis of focus group data. Psychosocial outcomes were assessed through analyses of pre- and post-intervention measures. Results: The intervention was feasible as 20 students attended at least seven of eight classes, and 21 completed the program. Students found the intervention acceptable and reported significant increases in mindfulness and self-compassion and decreased perceived stress from pre- to post-intervention. However, academic stress increased. Conclusions: MFY may be a feasible and acceptable program to offer to college students. Further piloting in college student populations is recommended.

Keywords:

• College student
• mindfulness
• self-compassion
• stress

Conflict of interest disclosure

Karen Bluth declares that she is the co-creator of Making Friends with Yourself: A Mindful Self-Compassion Program for Teens and Young Adults, and therefore has a business interest that may be affected by the research reported in the enclosed paper. This interest has been disclosed fully to Taylor & Francis. Other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of USA and received approval from the university Institutional Review Board.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by a grant from the Simmons University Fund for Research.