The Effects of A Brief Interconnectedness Meditation On Perceived Social Support, Emotional Reactivity, and Mental Health

Negative attentional bias and emotional reactivity has historically been associated with poor mental health outcomes, including increased likelihood of developing depression and anxiety. This is particularly relevant among college students, for whom rates of depression and anxiety are relatively high compared to other populations. Notably, perceived social support has been found to protect against these symptoms. Thus, interventions are needed which may help induce feelings of social support among college students. It is critical to identify interventions that are feasible to implement among this demographic group, including interventions which are brief and easy to administer.

Brief interconnectedness meditations have been found to promote feelings of connection; however, research has yet to explicitly test the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of these among college students. This is critical, as despite reporting high rates of depression and utilization of mental health services, interventions among college students is low, in part due to lack or time and preference for self-help.

Dr. Ilana Haliwa, Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department of Salve Regina University, is using an MRI Grant to test the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a brief interconnectedness meditation in improving perceived social support among college students.

Understanding the extent to which interconnectedness interventions may improve attentional and affective patterns underlying mental health conditions will allow for a deeper understanding of the pathways by which human relationships may impact wellbeing overall. Dr. Haliwa hypothesizes that greater perceived social support will be associated with reduced attentional bias to negative information and reduced reactivity to valenced stimuli. As such, the second aim of their study is to test whether the brief interconnectedness meditation impacts attentional bias and emotional reactivity through improvements in perceived social support.

In addition to measures of Perceived Social Support, Emotional Reactivity, Acceptability of Intervention and Feasibility of Intervention, Dr Haliwa and her team are measuring attentional bias following presentation of emotional stimuli (images) containing affective valences (happy, sad, neutral).

This study will help identify brief, and feasible interventions for promoting perceived social support among college students and will help to elaborate about potential mechanisms by which perceived social support may protect against poor mental health outcomes.