Improving psychological wellbeing outlook with online mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program during the Covid-19 pandemic: A study of synchronous intervention

This study was designed to explore the effect of an online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program on multidimensional factors of psychological well-being, such as finding meaning in life, cognitive and emotional awareness, self-compassion, gratitude, emotion regulation, self-acceptance, positive relationships, environmental mastery, personal growth, having a purpose in life, and autonomy. The sample consisted of 27 (Meanage = 31.56, SD = 9.55) participants. Participants received the online MBSR program for eight weeks, consisting of one session lasting two and a half hours each week and eight progressive sessions in total, with a four-hour silence retreat day between the sixth and seventh sessions, for a total of 24 hours. All participants completed the Gratitude, Self-Compassion, Emotion Regulation Skills, Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness, Meaning in Life, and Multidimensional Psychological Well-Being scales before and after the intervention. The means of the pre-test and post-test results were calculated for each participant, and Pearson correlation was examined for the study variables. Repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to examine the effect of the MBSR program on the pre-test and post-test findings of the participants. The results showed that the levels of participants' psychological well-being increased in the pre- and post-assessments. In addition, the levels of cognitive and affective mindfulness, self-compassion, search for and presence of meaning, emotion regulation skills, and gratitude increased significantly. The findings of this study suggest that online MBSR, like face-to-face MBSR, may have positive effects on participants in terms of psychological well-being.