A culturally adapted internet-delivered mindfulness intervention with counsellor guidance for reducing distress among Indonesian university students: A randomised waitlist-controlled trial

Psychological distress is prevalent among university students worldwide, including in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) such as Indonesia. Internet-delivered mindfulness interventions have been found to reduce distress. However, studies that evaluate the effectiveness of internet-delivered mindfulness interventions in LMICs are very limited. This randomised wait-list controlled trial assessed the effectiveness of a culturally adapted internet-based mindfulness intervention with lay counsellor guidance for reducing distress among university students in Indonesia. Indonesian university students experiencing elevated distress (N = 156) were randomly allocated to a 4-lesson internet-based mindfulness program with counsellor guidance (n = 77) or wait-list control (WLC) group (n = 79) during 4 weeks of intervention. Both groups completed self-report measures assessing psychological distress (DASS-21 and K-10), mindfulness (FFMQ), and well-being (IWBS) at baseline (T0), post-treatment (T1-week 5 after randomization), and 1-month follow-up (T2-week 9 after randomization). Intention-to-treat linear mixed models showed that participants on the internet-based mindfulness program guided by lay counsellors showed greater improvements at post-treatment and 1-month follow-up in psychological distress and mindfulness (between-group Hedges’ gs = 0.48–1.18) compared to the WLC group. Moderate between group effect sizes for wellbeing were found at 1-month follow-up (g = 0.47). This study showed that a culturally adapted internet-based mindfulness intervention with counsellor guidance is efficacious in reducing the psychological distress of Indonesian university students. Future research should evaluate the longer-term outcomes and its cost-effectiveness in Indonesia.