A Mindfulness Based Intervention to Enhance University Student Wellbeing in Saudi Arabia
Keywords:
mindfulness, mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR), life satisfaction, well-being, meditation, Saudi ArabiaAbstract
The Mindful Jeddah Training Program (MJTP) is a culturally and religiously inclusive three-week mindfulness-training pilot program designed to help university student’s deal with everyday stress, anxiety and depression while increasing levels of life satisfaction. A quasi-experiment was designed to compare the effectiveness of the MJTP with a control condition. Twenty-six female participants from a private university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia were randomly assigned to treatment or control group participation. A comparison of group means showed that the MJTP group had marginally decreased levels of stress, anxiety, depression and increased mental well-being and mindfulness. Yet, a dependent t-test showed that the MJTP group had statistical significantly increased levels of life satisfaction as well. An independent t-test between the two groups revealed no significant results. The control group showed decreased mental well-being while slightly increasing depression and anxiety which reinforces the idea that analyzing and over-thinking are detrimental to psychological health. The MJTP can be an effective way to meet well-being aims in Saudi Arabia and in a manner that is culturally and religiously congruent.References
Abdel-Khalek, A. M. (2014). Religiosity, health and happiness: Significant relations in adolescents from Qatar. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 60(7), 656–661.
Abdel Rahman, A. G., Al Hashim, B. N., Al Hiji, N. K., & Al Abbad, Z. (2013). Stress among medical Saudi students at College of Medicine, King Faisal University. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene, 54(4), 195-199.
Aboalshamat, K., Hou, X., & Strodl, E. (2015). Psychological well-being status among medical and
dental students in Makkah, Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study. Medical Teacher, 37(1). doi:10.3109/0142159x.2015.1006612
AlDahada, B. (2016). The effectiveness of transcendental meditation program in improvement the level of mindfulness among the female students in the University of Nizwa. Dirasat Educational Sciences, 43(1), 617-631.
Alexander, I. (2011, June 03). Check in with your feelings to bring yourself to a state of Islam. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=14kxFlMD-fo
Alexander, I. (2012, January 29). Experiencing inner peace through Islamic spirituality. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr7J6HwFVhw
Alghalib, S. (2017). Depression, anxiety and stress among university students: The case of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Depression and Anxiety, 6(3), 37.
AlShukry, A. (2015, August 26). 5 ways to increase taqwa | Ammar Alshukry | Rhyme Reason. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjR1icBEAeg
Andersen, S. R., Würtzen, H., Steding-Jessen, M., Christensen, J., Andersen, K. K., Flyger, H., . . .
Dalton, S. O. (2013). Effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction on sleep quality: Results of a randomized trial among Danish breast cancer patients. Acta Oncologica, 52(2), 336-344.
Bamber, M. D., & Morpeth, E. (2018). Effects of mindfulness meditation on college student anxiety: A meta-analysis. Mindfulness, doi:10.1007/s12671-018-0965-5
Beilock, S. L., & Carr, T. H. (2004). When high-powered people fail: Working memory and choking under pressure in math. Psychological Science, 16(2), 101-105.
Boyce, M., & Sawang, S. (2014). Unpacking the role of mindfulness in conscientiousness and spirituality. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, 10(6), 1-21.
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(4), 822-848.
Caldwell, K., Harrison, M., Adams, M., Quin, R. H., & Greeson, J. (2010). Developing mindfulness in college students through movement-based courses: Effects on self-regulatory self-efficacy, mood, stress, and sleep quality. Journal of American College Health, 58(5), 433-442.
Carmody, J., & Baer, R. A. (2007). Relationships between mindfulness practice and levels of mindfulness, medical and psychological symptoms and well-being in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31(1), 23-33.
Cash, M., & Whittingham, K. (2010). What facets of mindfulness contribute to psychological well-being and depressive, anxious, and stress-related symptomatology? Mindfulness, 1(3), 177-182.
Crane, R. S., Brewer, J., Feldman, C., Kabat-Zinn, J., Santorelli, S., Williams, J. M., & Kuyken, W. (2016). What defines mindfulness-based programs? The warp and the weft. Psychological Medicine, 47(06), 990-999.
Diener, E., & Emmons, R. A. (1984). The independence of positive and negative affect. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 47(5), 1105-1117.
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71-75.
Falkenström, F. (2010). Studying mindfulness in experienced meditators: A quasi-experimental approach. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(3), 305-310.
Giluk, T. L. (2009). Mindfulness, Big Five personality, and affect: A meta-analysis. Personality and
Individual Differences, 47(8), 805-811.
Greeson, J. M., Juberg, M. K., Maytan, M., James, K., & Rogers, H. (2014). A randomized controlled trial of koru: A mindfulness program for college students and other emerging adults. Journal of American College Health, 62(4), 222-233.
Greeson, J. M., Webber, D. M., Smoski, M. J., Brantley, J. G., Ekblad, A. G., Suarez, E. C., & Wolever, R. Q. (2011). Changes in spirituality partly explain health-related quality of life outcomes after mindfulness-based stress reduction. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 34(6), 508-518.
Harvard Health Publications (2018). Mindfulness can improve heart health. Retrieved March 09, 2018, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/mindfulness-can-improve-heart-health
Haver, A., Akerjordet, K., Caputi, P., Furunes, T., & Magee, C. (2015). Measuring mental well-being: A validation of the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being scale in Norwegian and Swedish. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 43(7), 721-727.
Hendriks, T., Schotanus-Dijkstra, M., Hassankhan, A, Graafsma, T., Bohlmeijer, E., & de Jong, J,
(2018). The efficacy of positive psychology interventions from non-Western countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Wellbeing, 8(1), 71-98.
Hofmann, S. G. (2006). The importance of culture in cognitive and behavioral practice. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 13(4), 243-245.
Hollis-Walker, L., & Colosimo, K. (2011). Mindfulness, self-compassion, and happiness in non- meditators: A theoretical and empirical examination. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(2), 222-227.
Howell, A. J., Digdon, N. L., Buro, K., & Sheptycki, A. R. (2008). Relations among mindfulness, well-being, and sleep. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(8), 773-777.
Houghton, S., Wood, L., Marais, I., Rosenberg, M., Ferguson, R., & Pettigrew, S. (2017). Positive
Mental Well-Being: A Validation of a Rasch-Derived version of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being scale. PsycTESTS Dataset, 1-16.
Hughes, J. W., Fresco, D. M., Myerscough, R., Dulmen, M. H., Carlson, L. E., & Josephson, R.
(2013). Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction for prehypertension. Psychosomatic Medicine, 75(8), 721-728.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1982). An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation: Theoretical considerations and preliminary results. General Hospital Psychiatry, 4(1), 33-47.
Kabat‐Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness‐based interventions in context: past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 144–156.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain and illness. New York, NY: Delacorte.
Kamran, G. (2018). Physical benefits of (Salah) prayer - Strengthen the faith and fitness. Journal of Novel Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, 2, 43-53.
Kohls, N., Sauer, S., & Walach, H. (2009). Facets of mindfulness – Results of an online study investigating the Freiburg mindfulness inventory. Personality and Individual Differences, 46(2), 224-230.
Lindsay, E. (2017). My Time Scripts. Unpublished manuscript, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.
Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (2nd ed). Sydney, Australia: Psychology Foundation.
Mastery, M. (2016, June 03). What is taqwa? [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE9hGeA8qvA
McCambridge, J., Witton, J., & Elbourne, D. R. (2014). Systematic review of the Hawthorne effect: New concepts are needed to study research participation effects. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 67(3), 267- 277.
Mccrae, R. R., & Greenberg, D. M. (2014). Openness to experience. The Wiley handbook of genius (pp. 222-243). New York.
Niazi, A., & Niazi, S. (2011). Mindfulness-based stress reduction: A non-pharmacological approach for chronic illnesses. North American Journal of Medical Sciences, 3(1), 20.
Oades, L. G., Robinson, P., Green, S., & Spence, G. B. (2011). Towards a positive university. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6, 432-439.
Oman, D., Shapiro, S. L., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders, T. (2008). Meditation lowers stress and supports forgiveness among college students: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of American College Health, 56(5), 569-578.
Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Psychological Assessment, 5(2), 164-172.
Parkitny, L., & McAuley, J. (2010). The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). Journal of Physiotherapy, 56(3), 204.
Rao, M. A., Donaldson, S. I., & Doiron, K. M. (2015). Positive psychology research in the Middle East and North Africa. Middle East Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(1), 60-76.
Reiner, K., Tibi, L., & Lipsitz, J. D. (2013). Do mindfulness-based interventions reduce pain intensity? A critical review of the literature. Pain Medicine, 14(2), 230-242.
Sani, M., Mahfouz, M., Bani, I., Alsomily, A., Alagi, D., Alsomily, N., . . . Asiri, S. (2012). Prevalence of stress among medical students in Jizan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Gulf Medical Journal, 1(1), 19-25.
Saniotis, A. (2018). Understanding mind/body medicine from Muslim religious practices of salat and dhikr. Journal of Religion and Health, 57(3), 849-857.
Schonert-Reichl, K. A., & Lawlor, M. S. 2010). The effects of a mindfulness-based education program on pre- and early adolescents’ well-being and social and emotional competence. Mindfulness, 1(3), 137-151.
Schutte, N. S., & Malouff, J. M. (2011). Emotional intelligence mediates the relationship between mindfulness and subjective well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(7), 1116-1119.
Schwartz, B., Ward, A., Monterosso, J., Lyubomirsky, S., White, K., & Lehman, D. R. (2002). Maximizing versus satisficing: Happiness is a matter of choice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(5), 1178-1197.
Saeedi, H., Nasab, S. M., Zadeh, A., & Ebrahimi, H. (2015). The effectiveness of positive psychology interventions with Islamic approach on quality of life in females with multiple sclerosis. Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal, 8(2), 965-970.
Sin, N. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009). Enhancing well‐being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: A practice‐friendly meta‐analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65(5), 467-487.
Slade, M. (2010). Mental illness and well-being: The central importance of positive psychology and recovery approaches. BMC Health Services Research, 10(1), 1-14.
Soons, I., Brouwers, A., & Tomic, W. (2010). An experimental study of the psychological impact of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program on highly sensitive persons. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 6(4), 148-169.
Sullivan, M. J., Wood, L., Terry, J., Brantley, J., Charles, A., Mcgee, V., . . . Cuffe, M. S. (2009). The Support, Education, and Research in Chronic Heart Failure Study (SEARCH): A mindfulness-based psychoeducational intervention improves depression and clinical symptoms in patients with chronic heart failure. American Heart Journal, 157(1), 84-90.
Thomas, J., Grey, I., & Kindermann, P. (2017). Exploring culturally attuned mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) as a means of improving quality of life, emotional well-being and academic performance of Emirati college students. Zayed University Working Paper No. ZU-WP 2017-04-05. Retrieved from https://www.zu.ac.ae/main/en/research/publications/_documents/Exploring%20Culturally%20Attuned%20Mindfulness%20Based%20Stress%20Reduction.pdf
Thomas, J., Raynor, M., & Bakker, M. (2016). Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction amongst Emirati Muslim women. Mental Health Religion & Culture, 19(3), 295–304.
Vision 2030. (2016, May 8). Retrieved from
http://vision2030.gov.sa/enhttps://www.mindful.org/jon-kabat-zinn-defining-mindfulness/
Walach, H., Buchheld, N., Buttenmüller, V., Kleinknecht, N., & Schmidt, S. (2006). Measuring mindfulness—The Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI). Personality and Individual Differences, 40(8), 1543-1555.
Whittington, B. L., & Scher, S. J. (2010). Prayer and subjective well-being: An examination of six different types of prayer. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 20(1), 59-68.
Williams, K. (2006). Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in a worksite wellness program. Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches, 361-376.
