Mindfulness in a College Physiology Course

Trustees of Dartmouth College

Status: Completed

Conditions: Mindfulness; College Student Mental Health; Perceived Stress; Stress

Treatments: Behavioral: Biology Course with Integrated Mindfulness

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06423053

STUDY00032944

Details and patient eligibility

About

This proposed study aims to evaluate whether integrating mindfulness into an undergraduate biology course (Mindful Physiology) influences student applied mindfulness and stress regulation.

The primary questions are

1. Would completing the Mindful Physiology course increase applied mindfulness?
2. Would completing the course increase self-efficacy in stress regulation?
3. Would completing the course reduce perceived reactivity to acute stressors?

Full description

The proposed study aims to evaluate whether integrating mindfulness practice into an undergraduate biology course influences student levels of applied mindfulness and stress regulation self-efficacy. A two-arm design will look at students who receive the intervention (a 10-week biology course with integrated mindfulness practice) and a control group of waitlisted students for the course who will only receive university wellness resources. Participants all attempted to register for the course during a set course selection period at the college and were randomly registered or waitlisted by the College Registrar. Students registered and waitlisted for the course will be recruited for the study, and those who provide informed consent will be enrolled. Data on applied mindfulness and stress regulation self-efficacy will be collected at baseline and the conclusion of the intervention (~10 weeks). Additionally, over weeks 8 and 9, participants will be invited for an in-person lab visit for a Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-OL) to assess reactivity to an acute social stressor.

This study aims to examine whether integrating mindfulness practice into a ten-week undergraduate-level biology course will enhance applied mindfulness and stress regulation capacity. We hypothesize that completing this ten-week course will (1) increase applied mindfulness, (2) increase self-efficacy in stress regulation, and (3) decrease perceived stress in response to an acute stressor.

Secondary analyses will also evaluate differential changes in individual well-being score components (including learning-related anxiety, self-compassion, social connectedness, alcohol use, media addiction, overall well-being, and physiological reactivity to an acute stressor).

Linear mixed effect models with a time and treatment interaction term and random intercepts by the participant will be fit to examine the first two hypotheses to account for repeated measurements and potential data missingness. To test the third hypothesis, we will compute the pre- to post-stress induction changes in subjective stress. Next, two-sample t-tests will be run on each change score to examine differences in responses to the stress challenge between the two groups. As sensitivity analyses, effect modification by baseline dispositional mindfulness, perceived stress over the last month, and severity of anxiety will be examined by including a three-way interaction term in the models to understand whether the intervention effect differs by these baseline characteristics. Further, the effect of the class on secondary outcomes will be explored with linear mixed-effect models. All analyses will consider a p-value < 0.05 as statistical significance.

Enrollment: 76 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Undergraduate students who selected Biology 3: Mindful Physiology during the 2025 Spring term course enrollment period.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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76 participants in 2 patient groups

Biology 3 students

Experimental group

Description:

This arm consists of students enrolled in the Mindful Physiology course (Biology 3) at Dartmouth College during the Spring 2025 term who will have access to the course offerings and usual university wellness resources.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Biology Course with Integrated Mindfulness

Biology 3 waitlisted students

No Intervention group

Description:

This arm consists of students waitlisted for the Biology 3 course during the Spring 2025 term. They will receive university wellness resources as usual. These include access to wellness counselors, mental health advisors, and psychiatrists at the university's counseling center, wellness advising at the student wellness center, and campus-wide wellness programs, such as weekly group yoga and meditation sessions and a free subscription to the Headspace app. On-campus mindfulness retreats will also be advertised and accessible to the control group.