Reducing Stress Among College Students: Mindfulness Meditation Versus Adult Coloring

College students report a wide variety of stressors including academic difficulties, uncertainty about future career plans, conflict with roommates, family pressure, and financial worries (Aselton, 2012). It is important to research not only stress reduction interventions for college students, but also effective ways to disseminate these programs to students, especially given how busy they are. The purpose of this study was to compare a brief two-week peer-delivered mindfulness meditation intervention with an adult coloring intervention and a psychoeducation intervention that consisted of general stress reduction tips. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three intervention conditions. Participants’ levels of stress, psychological distress, anxiety, and mindfulness were measured via pre-and post-treatment assessments (online self-report surveys). All interactions with participants were conducted remotely through Zoom and email. Participants were 74 General Psychology students who enrolled via Sona Systems, a participant pool management system, as part of their class participation. Researchers found that all three interventions were equally beneficial in reducing stress and psychological distress among college students. Both the mindfulness and psychoeducation interventions led to significant decreases in anxiety compared to the adult coloring intervention. Contrary to expectations, the psychoeducation intervention showed significant increases in mindfulness compared to the adult coloring and mindfulness interventions. Mindfulness meditation, adult coloring, and psychoeducation all show the potential to be effective in helping college students manage their stress.