Date of Completion
Spring 5-1-2025
Thesis Advisor(s)
Kimberli Treadwell
Honors Major
Psychological Sciences
Abstract
Background: Mindfulness is a multifaceted psychological construct that pertains to intentionally being aware of the present moment in a non-judgmental way. Little research has examined other facets of mindfulness and their association with perceived stress and anxiety.
Objective: To evaluate between-person and within-person relationships between specific facets of mindfulness (acting with awareness and nonjudging of inner experience) and various daily difficult events, perceived stress and anxiety levels among college-aged students across a 7-day period.
Methods: A sample of 78 undergraduates at the University of Connecticut were recruited through the Participant Pool and analyzed based on their baseline mindfulness and seven days of daily perceived stress, anxiety, and number of daily difficult events.
Results: Multilevel Modeling (MLM) was planned to analyze the longitudinal model across 7 days for individual change in anxiety as a result of stress, with mindfulness as a moderator. The unconditional repeated-measures model indicated that with regards to anxiety, there was significant variability within groups (Wald Z = 6.35, p < .001). Based on the current study’s Wald Z statistic, there was variance that needed explaining. A first-order autoregressive covariance structure was then selected for repeated effects. This model assessed four parameters. The estimate of the fixed effect for stress was significant, t(87) = 8.23, p < .001. For the last step, the model added in the mean for stress at Level 2. This model tested 4 parameters. The estimate for the parameters of person at Level 2 was not significant, t(85) = 2.1, p > .05. Daily stress predicted daily anxiety, but it did not predict future anxiety. Baseline mindfulness did not moderate this relationship.
Conclusions: This study highlights the context-specific and immediate nature of a daily stress and anxiety relationship. While mindfulness was not found to be a moderator and have a protective effect over a 7-day time span, future studies could determine if engaging in regular mindful practices has more of an effect on reducing anxiety and stress symptoms in daily life.
Recommended Citation
Lessard, Gabrielle, "The Relationship Between Mindfulness, Daily Difficult Events, Perceived Stress and Anxiety Among College Students" (2025). Honors Scholar Theses. 1147.
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/srhonors_theses/1147