Shi Keke, Feng Guoyan, Ye Meilin, Bi Xiaoyan, Cui Hongbo, Chen Weiyu, Gao Tao, Qing Zaihua, Ma Yankun
School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.
Guangzhou Xinhua University, Guangzhou, China.
PLoS One. 2025 Sep 2;20(9):e0331084. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0331084. eCollection 2025.
Rumination and negative emotions are prevalent among university students and are strongly linked to mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety. Group counseling involving a mindfulness-based strategies may help prevent university students from developing rumination and negative emotions and subsequent mental health disorders. This study aims to evaluate the alleviating effect of mindfulness intervention on rumination and negative emotions in university students in China.
A randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 2 arms (Intervention Group and Control Group), three assessment time points (pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up) is proposed. A total of 196 university students are randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 98) receiving a 2-week, daily 1.5-hour mindfulness training (MT) and a control group (n = 98) receiving peer support (PS) sessions. Participants complete the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale (DASS-21), and Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS) before, immediately after, and three months post-intervention. Statistical analysis will compare outcomes between groups to evaluate the effectiveness using a repeated-measures ANOVA.
Before the intervention, no significant differences are observed between groups. After the intervention, the MT group shows significant improvements in MAAS scores and reductions in DASS-21 scores (p < 0.05) compared to the PS group. While immediate improvements in rumination (RRS) are not significant, the MT group exhibits significant reductions in rumination three months post-intervention.
This study contributes to a better understanding of the effectiveness of mindfulness intervention in alleviating rumination and negative emotions in university students, and it is expected that with the proposed intervention university students can improve their psychological well-being. Besides, mindfulness interventions can potentially be extended to participants suffering from other psychological issues in the future.
反刍思维和负面情绪在大学生中普遍存在，且与包括抑郁和焦虑在内的心理健康障碍密切相关。基于正念策略的团体辅导可能有助于防止大学生产生反刍思维和负面情绪以及后续的心理健康障碍。本研究旨在评估正念干预对中国大学生反刍思维和负面情绪的缓解效果。
拟进行一项双臂随机对照试验（RCT），分为干预组和对照组，有三个评估时间点（干预前、干预后和3个月随访）。总共196名大学生被随机分配到干预组（n = 98），接受为期2周、每天1.5小时的正念训练（MT），以及对照组（n = 98），接受同伴支持（PS）课程。参与者在干预前、干预后立即以及干预后三个月完成正念注意觉知量表（MAAS）、抑郁焦虑压力量表（DASS - 21）和反刍反应量表（RRS）。统计分析将比较组间结果，使用重复测量方差分析来评估有效性。
干预前，组间未观察到显著差异。干预后，与PS组相比，MT组的MAAS得分有显著提高，DASS - 21得分降低（p < 0.05）。虽然反刍思维（RRS）的即时改善不显著，但MT组在干预后三个月反刍思维有显著降低。
本研究有助于更好地理解正念干预在缓解大学生反刍思维和负面情绪方面的有效性，预计通过所提出的干预，大学生可以改善他们的心理健康。此外，正念干预未来可能会扩展到患有其他心理问题的参与者。
