Abstract
Objective
With high rates of mental health concerns on college campuses, effective positive psychology interventions could greatly improve student well-being and academic outcomes. Participants: Working undergraduates (N = 52). Methods: This preliminary, randomized controlled trial investigated the effects of the 8-week Mindfulness-based strengths practice (MBSP) on Seligman’s five domains of well-being, as measured by the PERMA-Profiler, Workplace PERMA-Profiler, and student retention in working undergraduates. Results: Students in the MBSP intervention had significantly higher well-being, engagement, meaning, and health following the MBSP program (P < 0.0042). No such changes were observed in the control group. Students in the intervention group also had modestly higher retention rates in the following academic year than those in the control group. Conclusions: This study provides the first evidence to date that an MBSP program can improve college student well-being and retention.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge Jemma Natanson for data entry.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
This study was approved by the IRB at Warren Wilson College and written informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Consent for publication
Written informed consent for publication was obtained from all participants.
Availability of data and material
The dataset(s) supporting the conclusions of this article is(are) available in the Open Science Framework repository: https://osf.io/fcr4v/?view_only=6f92a86fe47e462d8aa872df750ea311
Conflict of interest disclosure
The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from Warren Wilson College.