Abstract
Mindfulness meditation is a common psychotherapy informed by Buddhist mindfulness that is gaining traction outside of the clinic. One area that is particularly popular is mobile mindfulness meditation, the use of applications (apps) to deliver mindfulness. Given the relative newness of these apps and the high turnover rate of app technology, few studies have rigorously examined the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation apps for improving mental health. Thus, in a series of pragmatic, randomised, controlled trials, I investigated the effects of mindfulness meditation apps on university students’ mental health.
In this thesis I report the effects of Study 1, a randomised, controlled trial examining the effect of app-based mindfulness meditation on mental health and adjustment to college life in a convenience sample of undergraduate psychology students (Study 1). Here, I found that app-based mindfulness was associated with small but significant improvements in a range of mental health and well-being outcomes. I also found that there were app-specific effects which suggest that not all mindfulness apps are created equally.
Study 1 provided the justification for Studies 2 and 3, where I investigated the effects of app-based mindfulness meditation on mental health in two targeted populations: a sample of clinically distressed university students who were seeking help through the university’s Counselling Service (Study 2), and a sample of incoming first-year university students living in one of two residential colleges (Study 3). In these studies, I identified barriers to implementation in complex contexts (Study 2) and that the transition to university (during the first semester of the first year of university) is an optimal time to intervene with incoming university students (Study 3). I took a pragmatic approach to effectiveness trials in all of the studies included in this thesis; that is, across all three trials I prioritised establishing the degree of effectiveness of mobile mindfulness meditation apps when they were used by a diverse population in a naturalistic setting, and where adherence is gently encouraged but not enforced. In doing so, I have contributed to the growing evidence of effectiveness for mobile MBI in real-world settings.
Although we may think that the only way to use technology mindfully is to turn it all off, in this thesis I demonstrate that mobile mindfulness meditation can help improve university students’ mental health. Importantly, mobile mindfulness meditation was most effective among those who continued to use the app frequently. Identifying the factors that encourage sustained usage should be a priority for future research so that mindfulness app users can reap the rewards.