Self-administered mindfulness interventions reduce stress in a large, randomized controlled multi-site study

Alessandro Sparacio; Hans IJzerman; Ivan Ropovik; Filippo Giorgini; Christoph Spiessens; Bert N. Uchino; Joshua Landvatter; Tracey Tacana; Sandra J. Diller; Jaye L. Derrick; Joahana Segundo; Jace D. Pierce; Robert M. Ross; Zoë Francis; Amanda LaBoucane; Christine Ma-Kellams; Maire B. Ford; Kathleen Schmidt; Celia C. Wong; Wendy C. Higgins; Bryant M. Stone; Samantha K. Stanley; Gianni Ribeiro; Paul T. Fuglestad; Valerie Jaklin; Andrea Kübler; Philipp Ziebell; Crystal L. Jewell; Yulia Kovas; Mahnoosh Allahghadri; Charlotte Fransham; Michael F. Baranski; Hannah Burgess; Annika B. E. Benz; Maysa DeSousa; Catherine E. Nylin; Janae C. Brooks; Caitlyn M. Goldsmith; Jessica M. Benson; Siobhán M. Griffin; Stephen Dunne; William E. Davis; Tam J. Watermeyer; William B. Meese; Jennifer L. Howell; Laurel Standiford Reyes; Megan G. Strickland; Sally S. Dickerson; Samantha Pescatore; Shayna Skakoon-Sparling; Zachary I. Wunder; Martin V. Day; Shawna Brenton; Audrey H. Linden; Christopher E. Hawk; Léan V. O'Brien; Tenzin Urgyen; Kim Lien van der Schans; Heidi Blocker; Caroline Ng Tseung-Wong; Gabriela M. Jiga-Boy

doi:10.1038/s41562-024-01907-7

Self-administered mindfulness interventions reduce stress in a large, randomized controlled multi-site study

Alessandro Sparacio^*, Hans IJzerman^*, Ivan Ropovik^*, Filippo Giorgini, Christoph Spiessens, Bert N. Uchino, Joshua Landvatter, Tracey Tacana, Sandra J. Diller, Jaye L. Derrick, Joahana Segundo, Jace D. Pierce, Robert M. Ross, Zoë Francis, Amanda LaBoucane, Christine Ma-Kellams, Maire B. Ford, Kathleen Schmidt, Celia C. Wong, Wendy C. HigginsBryant M. Stone, Samantha K. Stanley, Gianni Ribeiro, Paul T. Fuglestad, Valerie Jaklin, Andrea Kübler, Philipp Ziebell, Crystal L. Jewell, Yulia Kovas, Mahnoosh Allahghadri, Charlotte Fransham, Michael F. Baranski, Hannah Burgess, Annika B. E. Benz, Maysa DeSousa, Catherine E. Nylin, Janae C. Brooks, Caitlyn M. Goldsmith, Jessica M. Benson, Siobhán M. Griffin, Stephen Dunne, William E. Davis, Tam J. Watermeyer, William B. Meese, Jennifer L. Howell, Laurel Standiford Reyes, Megan G. Strickland, Sally S. Dickerson, Samantha Pescatore, Shayna Skakoon-Sparling, Zachary I. Wunder, Martin V. Day, Shawna Brenton, Audrey H. Linden, Christopher E. Hawk, Léan V. O'Brien, Tenzin Urgyen, Kim Lien van der Schans, Heidi Blocker, Caroline Ng Tseung-Wong, Gabriela M. Jiga-Boy

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Psychological Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

14 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Mindfulness witnessed a substantial popularity surge in the past decade, especially as digitally self-administered interventions became available at relatively low costs. Yet, it is uncertain whether they effectively help reduce stress. In a preregistered (OSF https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/UF4JZ ; retrospective registration at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06308744 ) multi-site study (n sites = 37, n participants = 2,239, 70.4% women, M age = 22.4, s.d. age = 10.1, all fluent English speakers), we experimentally tested whether four single, standalone mindfulness exercises effectively reduced stress, using Bayesian mixed-effects models. All exercises proved to be more efficacious than the active control. We observed a mean difference of 0.27 (d = -0.56; 95% confidence interval, -0.43 to -0.69) between the control condition (M = 1.95, s.d. = 0.50) and the condition with the largest stress reduction (body scan: M = 1.68, s.d. = 0.46). Our findings suggest that mindfulness may be beneficial for reducing self-reported short-term stress for English speakers from higher-income countries.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1716-1725
Number of pages	14
Journal	Nature Human Behaviour
Volume	8
Issue number	9
Early online date	11 Jun 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01907-7
Publication status	Published - Sept 2024

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Copyright the Author(s) 2024. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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Sparacio, A., IJzerman, H., Ropovik, I., Giorgini, F., Spiessens, C., Uchino, B. N., Landvatter, J., Tacana, T., Diller, S. J., Derrick, J. L., Segundo, J., Pierce, J. D., Ross, R. M., Francis, Z., LaBoucane, A., Ma-Kellams, C., Ford, M. B., Schmidt, K., Wong, C. C., ... Jiga-Boy, G. M. (2024). Self-administered mindfulness interventions reduce stress in a large, randomized controlled multi-site study. Nature Human Behaviour, 8(9), 1716-1725. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01907-7

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title = "Self-administered mindfulness interventions reduce stress in a large, randomized controlled multi-site study",

abstract = "Mindfulness witnessed a substantial popularity surge in the past decade, especially as digitally self-administered interventions became available at relatively low costs. Yet, it is uncertain whether they effectively help reduce stress. In a preregistered (OSF https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/UF4JZ ; retrospective registration at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06308744 ) multi-site study (n sites = 37, n participants = 2,239, 70.4% women, M age = 22.4, s.d. age = 10.1, all fluent English speakers), we experimentally tested whether four single, standalone mindfulness exercises effectively reduced stress, using Bayesian mixed-effects models. All exercises proved to be more efficacious than the active control. We observed a mean difference of 0.27 (d = -0.56; 95% confidence interval, -0.43 to -0.69) between the control condition (M = 1.95, s.d. = 0.50) and the condition with the largest stress reduction (body scan: M = 1.68, s.d. = 0.46). Our findings suggest that mindfulness may be beneficial for reducing self-reported short-term stress for English speakers from higher-income countries. ",

author = "Alessandro Sparacio and Hans IJzerman and Ivan Ropovik and Filippo Giorgini and Christoph Spiessens and Uchino, {Bert N.} and Joshua Landvatter and Tracey Tacana and Diller, {Sandra J.} and Derrick, {Jaye L.} and Joahana Segundo and Pierce, {Jace D.} and Ross, {Robert M.} and Zo{\"e} Francis and Amanda LaBoucane and Christine Ma-Kellams and Ford, {Maire B.} and Kathleen Schmidt and Wong, {Celia C.} and Higgins, {Wendy C.} and Stone, {Bryant M.} and Stanley, {Samantha K.} and Gianni Ribeiro and Fuglestad, {Paul T.} and Valerie Jaklin and Andrea K{\"u}bler and Philipp Ziebell and Jewell, {Crystal L.} and Yulia Kovas and Mahnoosh Allahghadri and Charlotte Fransham and Baranski, {Michael F.} and Hannah Burgess and Benz, {Annika B. E.} and Maysa DeSousa and Nylin, {Catherine E.} and Brooks, {Janae C.} and Goldsmith, {Caitlyn M.} and Benson, {Jessica M.} and Griffin, {Siobh{\'a}n M.} and Stephen Dunne and Davis, {William E.} and Watermeyer, {Tam J.} and Meese, {William B.} and Howell, {Jennifer L.} and {Standiford Reyes}, Laurel and Strickland, {Megan G.} and Dickerson, {Sally S.} and Samantha Pescatore and Shayna Skakoon-Sparling and Wunder, {Zachary I.} and Day, {Martin V.} and Shawna Brenton and Linden, {Audrey H.} and Hawk, {Christopher E.} and O'Brien, {L{\'e}an V.} and Tenzin Urgyen and {van der Schans}, {Kim Lien} and Heidi Blocker and {Ng Tseung-Wong}, Caroline and Jiga-Boy, {Gabriela M.}",

note = "Copyright the Author(s) 2024. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.",

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Sparacio, A, IJzerman, H, Ropovik, I, Giorgini, F, Spiessens, C, Uchino, BN, Landvatter, J, Tacana, T, Diller, SJ, Derrick, JL, Segundo, J, Pierce, JD, Ross, RM, Francis, Z, LaBoucane, A, Ma-Kellams, C, Ford, MB, Schmidt, K, Wong, CC, Higgins, WC, Stone, BM, Stanley, SK, Ribeiro, G, Fuglestad, PT, Jaklin, V, Kübler, A, Ziebell, P, Jewell, CL, Kovas, Y, Allahghadri, M, Fransham, C, Baranski, MF, Burgess, H, Benz, ABE, DeSousa, M, Nylin, CE, Brooks, JC, Goldsmith, CM, Benson, JM, Griffin, SM, Dunne, S, Davis, WE, Watermeyer, TJ, Meese, WB, Howell, JL, Standiford Reyes, L, Strickland, MG, Dickerson, SS, Pescatore, S, Skakoon-Sparling, S, Wunder, ZI, Day, MV, Brenton, S, Linden, AH, Hawk, CE, O'Brien, LV, Urgyen, T, van der Schans, KL, Blocker, H, Ng Tseung-Wong, C & Jiga-Boy, GM 2024, 'Self-administered mindfulness interventions reduce stress in a large, randomized controlled multi-site study', Nature Human Behaviour, vol. 8, no. 9, pp. 1716-1725. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01907-7

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AU - Sparacio, Alessandro

AU - IJzerman, Hans

AU - Ropovik, Ivan

AU - Giorgini, Filippo

AU - Spiessens, Christoph

AU - Uchino, Bert N.

AU - Landvatter, Joshua

AU - Tacana, Tracey

AU - Diller, Sandra J.

AU - Derrick, Jaye L.

AU - Segundo, Joahana

AU - Pierce, Jace D.

AU - Ross, Robert M.

AU - Francis, Zoë

AU - LaBoucane, Amanda

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AU - Stone, Bryant M.

AU - Stanley, Samantha K.

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AU - Dickerson, Sally S.

AU - Pescatore, Samantha

AU - Skakoon-Sparling, Shayna

AU - Wunder, Zachary I.

AU - Day, Martin V.

AU - Brenton, Shawna

AU - Linden, Audrey H.

AU - Hawk, Christopher E.

AU - O'Brien, Léan V.

AU - Urgyen, Tenzin

AU - van der Schans, Kim Lien

AU - Blocker, Heidi

AU - Ng Tseung-Wong, Caroline

AU - Jiga-Boy, Gabriela M.

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PY - 2024/9

Y1 - 2024/9

N2 - Mindfulness witnessed a substantial popularity surge in the past decade, especially as digitally self-administered interventions became available at relatively low costs. Yet, it is uncertain whether they effectively help reduce stress. In a preregistered (OSF https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/UF4JZ ; retrospective registration at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06308744 ) multi-site study (n sites = 37, n participants = 2,239, 70.4% women, M age = 22.4, s.d. age = 10.1, all fluent English speakers), we experimentally tested whether four single, standalone mindfulness exercises effectively reduced stress, using Bayesian mixed-effects models. All exercises proved to be more efficacious than the active control. We observed a mean difference of 0.27 (d = -0.56; 95% confidence interval, -0.43 to -0.69) between the control condition (M = 1.95, s.d. = 0.50) and the condition with the largest stress reduction (body scan: M = 1.68, s.d. = 0.46). Our findings suggest that mindfulness may be beneficial for reducing self-reported short-term stress for English speakers from higher-income countries.

AB - Mindfulness witnessed a substantial popularity surge in the past decade, especially as digitally self-administered interventions became available at relatively low costs. Yet, it is uncertain whether they effectively help reduce stress. In a preregistered (OSF https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/UF4JZ ; retrospective registration at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06308744 ) multi-site study (n sites = 37, n participants = 2,239, 70.4% women, M age = 22.4, s.d. age = 10.1, all fluent English speakers), we experimentally tested whether four single, standalone mindfulness exercises effectively reduced stress, using Bayesian mixed-effects models. All exercises proved to be more efficacious than the active control. We observed a mean difference of 0.27 (d = -0.56; 95% confidence interval, -0.43 to -0.69) between the control condition (M = 1.95, s.d. = 0.50) and the condition with the largest stress reduction (body scan: M = 1.68, s.d. = 0.46). Our findings suggest that mindfulness may be beneficial for reducing self-reported short-term stress for English speakers from higher-income countries.

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Self-administered mindfulness interventions reduce stress in a large, randomized controlled multi-site study

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Self-administered mindfulness interventions reduce stress in a large, randomized controlled multi-site study

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