A Five-Week Mindfulness Program for Emerging Adults Experiencing Anxious and/or Depressive Symptoms

Emerging adulthood is the highest risk period for developing mental health issues compared to other periods across the lifespan. Despite this high risk, emerging adults (EAs) experience especially long wait-times for mental health services. Therefore, preventative, evidence-based treatment is needed to enhance coping among EAs. Recent studies suggest a beneficial role for brief mindfulness-based interventions (bMBI) in addressing mental health symptom burden. High-quality research is needed to demonstrate whether bMBIs can provide efficacious treatment to improve the lives of EAs. The current study tested the efficacy of a five-week bMBI baseline within-subject controlled trial. The results of this preliminary analysis indicated that this bMBI was 1) effective in improving psychological distress and wellbeing outcomes and maintaining these improvements one-month following, and 2) that high pre-intervention self-compassion influenced primary outcomes. The current findings lend support for an efficacious preventative strategy and provide direction for increased services n post-secondary education.