The effects of yoga on self-perceived stress, self-compassion, and mindfulness in college students

• Main Author: Gorvine, Margaret M
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2016
• Subjects: Alternative Medicine; Health education; Psychology
• ISBN: 1339793296; 9781339793290

Stress is an everyday reality for college students in the United States. Mindfulness-based interventions, including yoga, may help reduce students’ stress levels. This study measured the effects of a yoga intervention on college students’ self-perceived stress, self-compassion, and mindfulness. Students (N = 30) at a small liberal arts college in the southern United States participated in one of two for-credit yoga classes, which met at 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. and were surveyed the second (pre) and the eleventh week after 20 classes (post). The students’ self-perceived stress was measured with the 10-question version of the Self-Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10; Cohen & Williamson, 1988). Their levels of self-compassion and mindfulness were measured via the Self-Compassion Scale—Short Form (SCS-SF; Raes, Pommier, Neff, & Van Gucht, 2011) and the Mindful Awareness Attention Scale (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003) respectively. Statistical repeated measures t tests returned no statistically significant changes in self-perceived stress, trait self-compassion, and trait mindfulness—although levels did move in the hypothesized direction (stress lowered slightly, while self-compassion and mindfulness increased). The researcher highlighted possible influential factors such as skill level of the participants, instructional focus on body alignment rather than directly training mindfulness and self-compassion, as well as student stress patterns.