The Role of Perceived Stress and Health Beliefs on College Students' Intentions to Practice Mindfulness Meditation

Abstract

Abstract
Background: Understanding why individuals decide to participate in mindfulness-based practices can aid in the development of effective health promotion outreach efforts. Purpose: This study investigated the role of health beliefs and perceived stress on the intention to practice mindfulness meditation among undergraduate college students. Methods: Undergraduate college students (N = 101) completed a survey that assessed their perceived stress, health beliefs, and intentions to practice mindfulness meditation. Results: The perceived benefits of mindfulness practice were positively related to intention to practice mindfulness meditation. Perceived stress was positively related to perceived severity and susceptibility to a stress-related problem. Intention to practice mindfulness meditation was positively related to intention to participate in mindfulness training in 3 different formats. Discussion: These findings suggest that it may be important to communicate the perceived benefits of mindfulness-based practices, as opposed to the threat of future stress-related problems, when developing health promotion messages and interventions among college students, a relatively young and healthy population. Translation to Health Education Practice: Developing health education and intervention approaches that are effective in encouraging college students to explore potentially beneficial practices, such as mindfulness meditation, may help them develop habits that can provide lifelong health benefits.

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American Journal of Health Education
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The Role of Perceived Stress and Health Beliefs
on College Students' Intentions to Practice
Mindfulness Meditation
Carol Ann Rizer, Mary Helen Fagan, Carol Kilmon & Linda Rath
To cite this article: Carol Ann Rizer, Mary Helen Fagan, Carol Kilmon & Linda Rath (2016)
The Role of Perceived Stress and Health Beliefs on College Students' Intentions to
Practice Mindfulness Meditation, American Journal of Health Education, 47:1, 24-31, DOI:
10.1080/19325037.2015.1111176
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2015.1111176
Published online: 08 Jan 2016.
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The Role of Perceived Stress and Health Beliefs on College Students’Intentions to
Practice Mindfulness Meditation
Carol Ann Rizer, Mary Helen Fagan, Carol Kilmon, and Linda Rath
The University of Texas at Tyler
ABSTRACT
Background: Understanding why individuals decide to participate in mindfulness-based practices
can aid in the development of effective health promotion outreach efforts. Purpose: This study
investigated the role of health beliefs and perceived stress on the intention to practice mindfulness
meditation among undergraduate college students. Methods: Undergraduate college students
(N¼101) completed a survey that assessed their perceived stress, health beliefs, and intentions to practice
mindfulness meditation. Results: The perceived benefits of mindfulness practice were positively
related to intention to practice mindfulness meditation. Perceived stress was positively related to
perceived severity and susceptibility to a stress-related problem. Intention to practice mindfulness
meditation was positively related to intention to participate in mindfulness training in 3 different
formats. Discussion: These findings suggest that it may be important to communicate the perceived
benefits of mindfulness-based practices, as opposed to the threat of future stress-related problems,
when developing health promotion messages and interventions among college students, a relatively
young and healthy population. Translation to Health Education Practice: Developing health
education and intervention approaches that are effective in encouraging college students to explore
potentially beneficial practices, such as mindfulness meditation, may help them develop habits that
can provide lifelong health benefits.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Submitted 13 May 2015
Accepted 7 July 2015
Background
Stress has been linked to a wide variety of adverse health
conditions, including mental health concerns like
depression, anxiety, and insomnia, as well as heart
disease, autoimmune disorders, skin conditions, neuro-
degenerative diseases, diabetes, and obesity.
1-4
In 2013,
the majority of Americans reported experiencing stress
levels above that which they perceived to be healthy, with
20% reporting extreme stress and millennials (age 18–
33) reporting more stress than the national average.
5
In
2010, 29% of incoming college students reported that
they frequently felt overwhelmed by all they had to do,
6
and multiple studies have recognized the impact of stress
on students throughout the college experience.
7,8
The
impact of stress on college students, who are challenged
by numerous stressors while in the process of developing
effective coping skills, may be manifested in fatigue,
depression, and physical symptoms that can affect
academic achievement and may result in either short- or
long-term disease conditions.
Mindfulness-based approaches have been shown to
increase personal awareness and decrease emotional
negativity and reactivity, leading to an increased
awareness of stress and improving coping skills.
9-11
Mindfulness as defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn is simply
paying attention on purpose and staying in the present
moment, while remaining nonjudgmentally aware of
unfolding physical, mental, and/or sensory experiences.
10
Over the last 2 decades, there has been considerable
research into how the practice of mindfulness relates to the
physiological and psychological manifestations of stress.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction is one approach that
has been shown to be an effective method of moderating
stress among many groups and incorporates training in
mindfulness meditation practices, including sitting
meditation, walking meditation, and hatha yoga.
12-14
Research with college students has explored the
relationship between mindfulness-based approaches,
stress, and a variety of health and behavioral outcomes
along with the effectiveness of various interventions.
15-18
A number of studies support the effectiveness of
mindfulness practice in reducing stress in college
students.
12,16,19,20
When stress is decreased, the like-
lihood of developing a chronic mental or physical health
conditions is also decreased.
1-4
For example, researchers
q2016 SHAPE America
CONTACT Carol Ann Rizer crizer@uttyler.edu The University of Texas at Tyler, Nursing and Health Sciences, 3900 University Blvd, Tyler, TX 75799.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH EDUCATION
2016, VOL. 47, NO. 1, 24–31
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who studied 441 college women found that mindfulness
training improved sleep habits and promoted healthier
eating, which, in turn, improved overall health.
20
It has
also been shown that mindfulness training decreases
anxiety and increases empathy among nursing students
12
and that mindfulness training through the incorporation
of movement based courses, such as pilates, Taiji quan, or
Gyrokinesis improves mood and decreases perceived
stress in college students.
19
Though mindfulness practice offers many potential
benefits, studies suggest that it is a skill that requires some
effort to learn and a commitment to ongoing practice in
order to reap the most benefits.
20
Therefore, the decision
to undertake mindfulness practice represents a behavior
change for most people, similar to a commitment to
exercise, dietary improvement, or other health promotion
practices. The Health Belief Model (HBM)
21
provides a
framework for understanding key factors that influence
the adoption of preventative health practices and for
designing interventions to change health behaviors. The
HBM posits that an individual will be more likely to
engage in a particular health-related behavior if he or she
believes that the action will reduce the perceived threat
at an acceptable cost–benefit ratio.
22
Studies utilizing
the HBM have explored how the model can predict
preventative behaviors such as influenza vaccinations,
pap tests, dental visits, and use of safety gloves.
23,24
This
study uses the HBM as a framework to explore factors
that might affect college students’decisions to pursue
mindfulness practices as a means to alleviate stress and to
reduce the risk of problematic health effects. The focus
of this study is on the factors that may influence an
individual’s intention to engage in mindfulness practice.
The HBM theorizes that health behavior is based upon
an individual’s perceptions of the threat of an illness and
their evaluation of the costs and benefits of behavior
intended to counteract the perceived threat.
25
The
perceived threat of an illness is based upon individual
beliefs regarding perceived susceptibility and perceived
severity.
26
Perceived susceptibility is defined as an
individual’s belief about their risk of getting an illness.
Perceived severity is defined as an individual’s belief
about the seriousness of a particular illness, including
one’s perception of the significant consequences of a
health threat.
27
The HBM posits that perceived barriers/
costs and perceived benefits are outcome expectations
that are evaluated to determine whether an individual
will undertake a particular health behavior. Perceived
barriers are defined as beliefs about physical, psycho-
logical, financial, and other costs of a health-related
action that would need to be overcome.
22,28
Perceived
benefits are defined as the belief that the results of the
action will be beneficial and advantageous in reducing
the risk of experiencing the potential threat or reducing
the impact of the threat if it is experienced.
28
The HBM has been modified to include various direct
predictors of health behavior and antecedent variables
that are hypothesized to indirectly affect behavior by
influencing perceived severity, susceptibility, benefits,
and/or barriers.
25,29
However, a review of the literature did
not find any studies in which the relationship between
perceived stress and health beliefs was investigated. Based
upon literature regarding the relationship between stress
and stress-related illness,
30,31
the research model used
in this study hypothesizes that perceived stress would
influence 2 health beliefs: perceived susceptibility to a
stress-related problem and perceived severity of a stress-
related problem. In addition, based upon studies that have
explored the relationship between perceived stress and
mindfulness, the research model used in this study
hypothesizes that perceived stress would directly influence
intention to practice mindfulness meditation.
32-34
The HBM, as a type of social cognition model, focuses
on people’s beliefs about the costs and benefits of a
behavior and how these beliefs predict decisions about
how to act as part of a process of self-regulation.
25
Whereas the HBM posits that health beliefs are direct
precursors of behavior,
29,35,36
the Theory of Reasoned
Action suggests that beliefs are cognitive precursors of
intention and that intention is the most significant
predictor of whether or not someone will engage in a
particular behavior.
37
Studies have extended the HBM to
specify the mechanisms by which health beliefs generate
action by building upon the Theory of Reasoned
Action.
37
For example, the HBM was extended to include
behavioral intention as a precursor of action in a study of
screening for hypertension.
29
In a similar way, this study
hypothesized that health beliefs would influence inten-
tion to practice mindfulness meditation. A graphical
representation of the research model used in this study is
provided in Figure 1.
Because mindfulness-based approaches can result in
significant physical and psychological health benefits,
it is important to understand why individuals may decide
to participate or not to participate in mindfulness-based
practices and training opportunities. A better under-
standing of the factors that motivate individuals to
engage in mindfulness-based practices could help in the
development of effective outreach efforts that connect
interested individuals with mindfulness education and
training opportunities. In addition, by determining which
education and intervention approaches most effectively
encourage college students to explore potentially
beneficial practices, such as mindfulness meditation,
they may be more likely to develop habits that can
provide lifelong health benefits.
STRESS AND MINDFULNESS MEDITATION 25
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Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore factors that
might affect college students’decisions to pursue
mindfulness-based practices as a means to alleviate stress
and to reduce the risk of problematic health effects. The
study investigated the relationship between (1) perceived
stress and health beliefs, (2) perceived stress and
intention to participate in mindfulness-based meditation,
and (3) health beliefs and intention to participate in
mindfulness-based meditation. In addition, because
training in mindfulness practices can be obtained in a
variety of formats (e.g., face to face vs. online), this study
also explored attitudes toward different delivery modes
for mindfulness training.
Methods
After obtaining approval from the Institutional Review
Board, a convenience sample of 102 participants was
recruited from students enrolled in junior-level required
undergraduate business classes in a public university in
the southwestern United States. Individual informed
consent was obtained from participating students at the
beginning of the class period and prior to the start of the
project. One participant did not complete the study
questionnaire and therefore their data were not included
in the analysis, resulting in 101 final participants. The
participants were between the ages of 19 and 53 years
(M¼24.3, SD ¼5.8) and the majority of the students
were male (n¼61; 60.4%). Students were offered the
Perceived
stress
(STR)
Severity of a
stress related
problem
(SEV)
R2 = 0.218
Susceptibility
to stress related
problem
(SUS)
R2 = 0.218
Barriers to
mindfulness
practice
(BAR)
Benefits of
mindfulness
practice
(BEN)
Intention to
practice
mindfulness
(INT)
R2 = 0.343
Intention to
attend 2 hour
training
(INTH)
R2 = 0.218
Intention to
attend 8 week
face to face
training (INTF)
R2 = 0.126
Intention to
attend8 week
online training
(INTO)
R2 = 0.219
H2
H3
0.57 ***
H4
0.13
H5
–0.16
H6
0.47 ***
H7
-0.14
H8
0.46 ***
H9
0.36 ***
H10
0.47 ***
Threat
Outcome
Expectations
Intention
H1
0.06
Health Beliefs
Antecedent
0.47 ***
Figure 1. Research model. ***P,.01; 2.56 significance level ¼1%.
26 C. A. RIZER ET AL.
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opportunity to earn extra credit in their class by
participating in this research study. Students who chose
not to participate in the study could earn equivalent extra
credit by participating in an alternative online assign-
ment. The survey consisted of an anonymous pen-and-
pencil questionnaire that required approximately
20 minutes for completion.
Champion
38
developed 4 scales to measure HBM
constructs in the context of breast self-examination.
Champion
39
stated that these scales could be modified for
use with health behaviors and the scales have been
validated previously and used for other study conditions
such as mammography adherence,
40
condom use,
41
and
premarital counseling.
42
The 4 scales developed by
Champion
38
were modified to fit the context of this
study, which is the adoption of mindfulness practices for
stress-related problems. These measures used 5-point
scales anchored by strongly agree to strongly disagree.
Perceived susceptibility to stress-related problems was
measured with a 6-item scale adapted from that used
by Champion
39
to assess perceived susceptibility to breast
cancer, including items such as “There is a good
possibility that I will have a stress-related problem.”
Perceived severity of stress-related problems was
measured by adapting a 12-item scale developed by
Champion
39
to assess perceived severity of breast cancer
and included items such as “My financial security would
be endangered if I got a stress-related problem.”
For the purposes of this study, mindfulness practice
was operationalized and defined in the survey ques-
tionnaire as a complementary and alternative health
practice that uses meditation to increase awareness of the
present moment in order to help reduce the physical and
psychological response to stress and to improve health.
The perceived benefits of mindfulness practice were
measured with a 5-item scale adapted from a scale used to
assess perceived benefits of monthly breast exams
39
and
included items such as “Practicing mindfulness would
prevent future problems for me.”The perceived barriers
to mindfulness practice were measured with an 8-item
scale adapted from a scale used to assess perceived
barriers to monthly breast exams
39
and included items
such as “Mindfulness practice can be uncomfortable or
painful.”Composite reliability
43
is the measure of
internal consistency reliability that is deemed most
appropriate for partial least squares structural equation
modeling (PLS-SEM).
44
As reported in Table 1,
composite reliability values for these scales were 0.88
(perceived susceptibility), 0.87 (perceived severity), 0.92
(perceived benefits), and 0.74 (perceived barriers), which,
because they are above 0.70, are rated as satisfactory to
good.
44
The Perceived Stress Scale was designed to measure
global levels of perceived stress and has been shown to
have adequate reliability and validity in a variety of
populations, including young adults.
45
This study utilized
the 14-item version of the Perceived Stress Scale to assess
to what degree respondents found events in their lives
to be uncontrollable, unpredictable, and overloading
during the past month. As reported in Table 1, composite
reliability for this scale was 0.87.
Because intention to engage in a behavior is defined as
the self-perception of the probability that an individual
will engage in a specific behavior that is under volitional
control,
37
this study’s authors developed a 3-item scale to
measure intention to practice mindfulness meditation.
The items were as follows: (1) I will try to practice a
10-minute mindfulness meditation 3 times a week in the
forthcoming month, (2) I intend to practice a 10-minute
mindfulness meditation 3 times a week in the forth-
coming month, and (3) I plan to try to practice a
10-minute mindfulness meditation 3 times a week in the
forthcoming month. Similar scales consisting of 3 items
each were developed to measure intention to attend a
2-hour mindfulness training, intention to attend an
8-week online mindfulness training, and intention to
attend an 8-week face-to-face mindfulness training.
As reported in Table 1, the composite reliability for the
Table 1. Composite reliability, average variance extracted, and correlations among latent variables in the measurement model
(N¼101).
a
AVE AVE and Squared Correlations
Latent Variables CR 1 23456789
Barriers (1) 0.74 0.50 0.71
Benefits (2) 0.92 0.65 20.36 0.81
Intention–mindfulness practice (3) 0.96 0.88 20.34 0.55 0.94
Severity (4) 0.87 0.55 0.03 0.42 0.26 0.74
Perceived stress (5) 0.87 0.53 0.05 0.26 0.14 0.47 0.73
Susceptibility (6) 0.88 0.55 0.21 0.26 0.04 0.58 0.57 0.74
Intention–2-hour training (7) 0.98 0.94 20.11 0.65 0.47 0.31 0.11 0.27 0.97
Intention–8-week online training (8) 0.98 0.94 20.04 0.48 0.36 0.34 0.05 0.27 0.65 0.97
Intention–8-week face-to-face training (9) 0.98 0.93 0.02 0.51 0.47 0.29 0.08 0.20 0.81 0.74 0.96
CR indicates composite reliability; AVE, average variance extracted (diagonal entries in bold are the square root of the AVE for that factor; other values are
correlation coefficients). Numerals(1) through (9) next to each LatentVariable providea cross reference for the correspondingAVE and Squared Correlations.
STRESS AND MINDFULNESS MEDITATION 27
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intention to practice mindfulness meditation scale was
0.96 and the composite reliability for each of the training
intention scales was 0.98.
Results
Model testing was performed with PLS-SEM using the
SmartPLS version 2.0 software.
46
PLS-SEM was initially
developed by Wold
47
and is a nonparametric technique
that is robust when used with smaller sample sizes, makes
no assumptions regarding the distribution of variables,
and is well suited for developing theories in exploratory
research.
44
Following the recommendations in the
literature,
48
a 2-step approach was used to analyze
the model. In this 2-step approach, an assessment of the
measurement model must indicate satisfactory quality
before the second step, assessment of the structural
model, is undertaken.
Recommendations for assessing a reflective measure-
ment model involves analyzing indicator reliability,
internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and
discriminant validity.
44,49
The initial assessment of the
measurement model showed that some indicators had
weak outer loadings (,0.70) and some latent variables
had low average variance extracted (AVE) values
(,0.50). Following the recommended procedure for
outer loading relevance testing and deletion,
44
indicators
whose outer standardized loadings were smaller than 0.40
were removed from the measurement model.
Then the model was reestimated and indicators with
outer loadings between 0.40 and 0.70 were deleted only
when removal of an indicator increased the AVE above
the recommended threshold level of 0.50. All values
for composite reliability were above 0.70, indicating
acceptable internal consistency reliability of the latent
variables for exploratory research.
44
The AVE values
for all latent variables were 0.50 or greater, indicating
acceptable convergent validity.
Discriminant validity was assessed by comparing the
square root of the AVE for a latent variable with the
correlation between the latent variable and all other latent
variables in the model. The square roots of the AVE for
each latent variable were greater than any of the between
latent variable correlations, demonstrating adequate
discriminant validity for the latent variables in the
model.
50
The results from the assessment of the
measurement model are summarized in Table 1 and
suggest that the measurement model is acceptable.
Because testing of the measurement model indicated
satisfactory quality, bootstrapping with 5000 subsamples,
as suggested by Chin,
51
was used to assess the structural
model. The evaluation of the structural model was based
upon the size and significance of path coefficients and the
R
2
measures (coefficients of determination). A review of
the R
2
values for each endogenous construct indicates a
model’s predictive accuracy.
Though assessment of R
2
values depends upon the
discipline, Chin
51
suggests, as a rule of thumb, that R
2
values of 0.67, 0.33, and 0.19 correspond to substantial,
moderate, and weak effects. Figure 1 shows the path
coefficients for the structural paths and the variance
accounted for in the dependent variables (R
2
), and
Table 2 summarizes the results of hypothesis testing.
An evaluation of the strength and the significance of the
path coefficients indicates that 5 hypotheses were
supported (H2, H3, H6, H8, H9, and H10). The R
2
value of intention to practice mindfulness meditation had
a moderate R
2
value of 0.34.
Discussion
Mindfulness practices have been shown to have a wide
range of potential benefits. The current study sought to
explore what factors might explain and influence the
intention to practice mindfulness meditation among college
students using an extended HBM. As hypothesized,
perceived benefits of mindfulness meditation, an outcome
expectation of the HBM, was significantly and positively
associated with intention to practice mindfulness medita-
tion. In addition, as hypothesized, perceived stress was
Table 2. Hypothesis testing results.
Hypothesis TStatistics Pvalue Significance
H1: Perceived stress is positively associated with intention to practice mindfulness. 0.600 .550 ns
H2: Perceived stress is positively associated with severity of a stress related problem. 5.609 .000 ***
H3: Perceived stress is positively associated with susceptibility to a stress related problem. 9.417 .000 ***
H4: Susceptibility to a stress related problem is positively associated with intention to practice mindfulness. 1.282 .203 ns
H5: Severity of a stress related problem is positively associated with intention to practice mindfulness. 0.994 .323 ns
H6: Benefits of mindfulness practice are positively associated with intention to practice mindfulness. 5.178 .000 ***
H7: Barrier to mindfulness practice are positively associated with intention to practice mindfulness. 1.428 .156 ns
H8: Intention to practice mindfulness is positively associated with intention to attend 2 hour training. 4.622 .000 ***
H9: Intention to practice mindfulness is positively associated with intention to attend 8 week face to face training. 4.775 .000 ***
H10: Intention to practice mindfulness is positively associated with intention to attend 8 week online training. 3.725 .000 ***
***p,.01; 2.56 significance level ¼1%.
28 C. A. RIZER ET AL.
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significantly and positively associated with both perceived
severity of a stress-related problem and perceived
susceptibility to a stress-related problem, the 2 variables
that make up the threat component in the HBM. Finally,
intention to practice mindfulness was positively related to
intention to engage in all 3 delivery modes of mindfulness
training (i.e., a 2-hour training, an 8-week face-to-face
training, and an 8-week online training).
Neither perceived severity nor perceived susceptibility
to stress-related problems were found to be significantly
related to intention to practice mindfulness meditation.
Both susceptibility and severity have been previously
shown to have weak relationships to behavior.
24
In a
review of HBM research, Janz and Becker
52
suggested
that the perceived severity of a health threat may have less
predictive value when individuals are unfamiliar with the
effects of the health threat and when the effects of this
threat occur in the long term.
Abraham and Sheeran
29
suggested that further
research is needed in this area because it may be only
after a particular severity level is reached that decision
making regarding health behavior becomes a priority
and, at this point, decisions about health behavior may be
based primarily on perceived susceptibility. Because this
study involved college students who may experience
stress but have not had much experience, as a group, with
the long-term health risks of stress, this characteristic of
the population may help explain why the hypotheses
regarding perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, and
the relationship between perceived stress and intention to
practice mindfulness meditation were not supported in
this study.
Perceived barriers, an outcome expectation in the
HBM, has been found to be one of the most reliable
predictors of behavior in a meta-analysis of the HBM
literature.
52
However, in this study, the hypothesis
regarding the relationship between perceived barriers
and intention to practice mindfulness meditation was not
supported. One possible reason may be related to how the
HBM construct (perceived barriers) was operationalized
in the context of this study. A systematic review of HBM
studies identified a concern with how the study
instruments were developed to measure HBM
constructs.
53
In this case, qualitative comments from
students in the study identified other possible barriers
specific to mindfulness practice that were not reflected in
the items adapted from scales used in previous research
relating to perceived barriers to monthly breast exams
(e.g., the belief that mindfulness practices, due to their
Buddhist origin, would conflict with the student’s religious
beliefs).
Overall, the variables in the study model explained
34% of the variance (R
2
¼0.34) in the outcome variable,
intention to practice mindfulness meditation. This result
indicates a moderate effect and is in line with studies
using similar theoretical models. For example, one meta-
analysis found that, on average, studies using the theory
of planned behavior explained 39% of the variance
between antecedent variables and behavioral intention.
54
However, only one of the 4 variables in the HBM,
perceived benefits, was found to have a significant
association with intention to practice mindfulness
meditation.
These study findings suggest that rather than focusing
on stress-related health problems, interventions to
motivate college students might involve developing
health promotion messages that communicate other
benefits of mindfulness meditation practices (e.g.,
reducing anxiety and improved concentration, memory,
and attention). Further research into the perceived
benefits of mindfulness-based stress reduction and
mindfulness meditation for healthy people
55
and for
college students in particular might prove fruitful. Future
research efforts might also seek to include more variables
from the latest research utilizing the reasoned action
approach for health promotion.
56,57
The current study had several limitations. The study
employed a cross-sectional survey research design that
limited the ability to examine causality among variables.
In addition, the use of self-report measures may
introduce social desirability bias. The study used a
convenience sample of college students and therefore the
results may not be generalizable to other age groups or
perhaps even to other college students with differing
characteristics. As noted earlier, college students may not
experience a significant degree of health problems due to
stress as opposed to other populations that are older and/
or less healthy.
Translation to Health Education Practice
Because college students experience levels of stress
that could lead to potentially adverse health
conditions,
5,47
participating in mindfulness meditation
could help to alleviate stress and facilitate other positive
outcomes.
8,30,36
However, time and effort are required
to engage in mindfulness meditation and, as a result,
students who might benefit from mindfulness practice
may not be motivated to engage in it. These study
findings indicate that only the perceived benefits of
mindfulness meditation (and not the perceived severity
of stress-related problems or perceived susceptibility to
such problems) were related to intention to practice
mindfulness meditation among college students.
Therefore, these findings suggest that an emphasis
on the potential benefits of mindfulness-based practices
STRESS AND MINDFULNESS MEDITATION 29
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in health promotion outreach efforts designed for this
population could positively affect students’intentions to
pursue mindfulness-based practices and could be more
effective, for example, than an emphasis on preventing
future stress-related problems and related illnesses.
Developing health education and intervention
approaches that are effective in encouraging college
students to explore potentially beneficial practices such as
mindfulness meditation may help them develop habits
that can provide lifelong health benefits.
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