In addition, one study based on a Swedish sample found an association between stress and early drop-outs from the university. Collective evidence has reported an association between stress-related somatic events and quality of life of students. The immediate gratification of sensory pleasures through alcohol and drugs seems to influence a substantial number of college youth. Alcohol consumption and illicit drug use were high among college students and point to their poor coping with stressors, although other factors such as peer influence and risk-taking behavior of youth may also be the contributing factors to the increasing prevalence of maladaptive behaviors. Reportedly, the annual prevalence of illicit substance use among college students was 45%. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) conducted in 2017, approximately 54% of college students consumed alcohol, 34.8% reported being binge drinkers (drank five or more drinks in a single sitting for men or four or more drinks for women), and 9.7% reported being engaged in heavy alcohol use (binged on 5 or more days) over the past month. Stress among college students is also associated with the adoption of negative coping mechanisms, such as substance use disorders. Stress can be a direct causative factor, an indirect contributory factor, and/or a precipitating factor for mental disorders. A study by Toussaint and colleagues (2016) found that stress degraded physical and mental health in a sample of college students. Ī majority of mental health illnesses occur before the mid-twenties and manifest during college years, and are associated with a lower academic functioning. Anxiety disorders, depression, suicide, eating disorders (bulimia, anorexia, and binge eating), bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia were common among college students. The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a survey among eight countries with 13,984 college students and found that 35% had a lifetime diagnosis of a mental health disorder. According to the recent National College Health Assessment Survey conducted by the American College Health Association (2019) in the United States (U.S.), 87%, 56%, and 45% of college students felt overwhelmed, helpless, and depressed, respectively, which made them less functional in performing their daily and academic activities over the previous year.
This has implications for the reduction of stress as well as a preemptive measure for sexual risk-taking, indulgence in maladaptive behaviors such as smoking, vaping, alcohol, and substance use.Ĭollege life is innately stressful, where one can feel overwhelmed while experiencing new social interactions and relationships. This study can pave a way for designing interventions for college students to promote introspective meditation directed toward seeking pleasurable activities before engaging in them. With each unit increment in subscales of sustenance (i.e., emotional transformation), the conditional mean for sustaining introspective meditation behavior increased by 0.330 units. In the hierarchical regression for sustenance, the final model explained nearly 50.5% of variance in sustaining introspective meditation behavior among participants ( n = 51) who had not been practicing it. With each unit increment in subscales of initiation (i.e., changes in physical environment), the conditional mean for initiating introspective meditation behavior increased by 0.373 units. In the hierarchical regression for initiation, the final model explained nearly 21.1% of variance in initiating introspective meditation among participants ( n = 51) who had not been practicing it. The proportions of anxiety, depression, and moderate/high stress were 50.8%, 40.0%, 86.1% respectively. The sample constituted predominantly females (75.4%), White (64.6%), and undergraduate students (87.7%). Of total 65 students, only 21.5% students reported being engaged in the introspective meditation. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistics were used to analyze data. A non-probability sample of college students was recruited from a mid-sized Southern University of the United States using a 52-items web-based survey built in Qualtrics. This pilot study focuses on introspective meditation performed before seeking pleasurable activities, which is a self-reflection about whether to pursue a goal that will bring sensory pleasure in life.
In the realm of behavioral interventions, a combined approach of yoga and a cognitive-behavioral strategy in the form of introspective meditation ( manan-dhyana) may offer benefits as a stress management tool.
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