6-Week student wellness program improves psychological wellbeing of students

J Am Coll Health. 2024 May 14:1-5. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2024.2351431. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Objective: Employing a waitlist control design, the current study examined the effectiveness of a shortened version of a newly developed wellness program. Participants/Methods: Twenty-four students were randomly assigned to an experimental wellness (EW) group or a waitlist control (WLC) group. The 6-week wellness program focused on specific wellness topics (i.e., relaxation and mindfulness, yoga, gratitude and self-compassion, emotion regulation, goal setting and time management, and nutrition and movement). Both mental health and wellbeing outcomes were examined pre-post group. Results/Conclusions: Findings revealed that the EW group reported significantly improved overall psychological wellbeing, optimism, self-compassion, and satisfaction with life following the program relative to baseline, but the WLC group did not.

Keywords: Mental health; student wellness; wellbeing; wellness program.