Sitting Meditation and Mindfulness Effects on Overall Anxiety and Test Anxiety Among College Students

Research shows that mindfulness interventions for test anxiety in a college student population are beneficial (Lothes, Matney, & Naseer, 2022). This study assessed the effects of online mindfulness practices over a 5‐week period on anxiety and test anxiety in college students. Participants included 20 students that were randomly assigned to either a sitting meditation or a wait list control (WLC). A weekly schedule of mindfulness practices was given to participants to complete on their own for 5 weeks. The WLC did not do any mindfulness for the first 5 weeks. Participants in the both conditions showed significant within‐group reductions in test anxiety, overall anxiety, and DASS scores during their mindfulness interventions. Both groups also showed significant increases in FFMQ scores. Mindfulness may play a role in the reduction of anxiety and test anxiety. Further research is needed to assess how mindfulness may affect anxiety and test anxiety in college students. LAY ABSTRACT College students participated in an online 5‐week mindfulness course to see if mindfulness helped reduce test anxiety. Overall mindfulness scores went up, anxiety and test anxiety scores went down significantly from the time they started the mindfulness practices to the time they finished. Mindfulness may play a role in the reduction of anxiety and test anxiety. Due to the small N of this study, further research is needed to assess how mindfulness may affect anxiety and test anxiety.