Mindfulness for Stress and Well-being in University Students

In developing countries such as Pakistan, the challenges university students face are many-fold and there is a need for an intervention that helps build students' connection with themselves, utilizing their internal resources to deal with stresses. Mindfulness-based interventions have shown effectiveness with university students in high-income countries. The current study will be testing an adaptation for students of Pakistan of an intervention (Finding Peace in a Frantic World) which is based on principles from both Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy(MBCT) and Mindfulness-based stress reduction(MBSR). The purpose of this pilot trial is to assess the feasibility and acceptability (primary outcomes) of conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an adapted Mindfulness-based intervention with a wait-list control group for university students in Pakistan to reduce stress and enhance psychological well-being (N=50), which will inform the development of a future large-scale RCT. Keeping in view the COVID-19 lockdown and economic conditions in low-and-middle-income countries (LAMICs), an online program with a remote facilitator is deemed to be more cost-effective, approachable, practical, and de-stigmatizing for students.