A Comparative Analysis of Positive Mindfulness and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Training on Automatic Thoughts and Optimism Among Medical Science Students

Background: Medical training is notoriously demanding, exposing students to significant stressors such as heavy workloads, high-stakes examinations, exposure to suffering and death, and pressure to perform. These factors can lead to increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout, negatively impacting students' mental health and well-being. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of positive mindfulness training (PMT) and cognitive emotion regulation training (CERT) on automatic thoughts and optimism in medical sciences students. Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design to examine the effects of PMT and CERT on medical students at Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (Ahvaz) during the 2022 academic year. A convenience sample of 45 students was randomly assigned to a PMT group, a CERT group, or a control group. Participants in the two intervention groups received ten 90-minute sessions of their respective training programs, while the control group received no intervention. Data on automatic thoughts and optimism were collected using the Negative Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire and the optimism subscale of the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-I). Data analysis was conducted using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni post-hoc tests (SPSS v. 27). Results: The findings indicated that both PMT and CERT were effective in reducing negative automatic thoughts and enhancing optimism among medical sciences students at the post-test stage (P < 0.001). These effects were sustained at the follow-up assessment, with no significant difference in effectiveness between the two intervention groups. Conclusions: The results demonstrated that both PMT and CERT were effective in decreasing negative automatic thoughts and increasing optimism among medical sciences students. A key implication of these findings is the potential for incorporating mindfulness and cognitive emotion regulation techniques into medical education curricula.