Education in the Age of Anxiety: The Impact of Mindfulness Activities on First-Year College Students

Abstract

This mixed-methods study explored how mindfulness practices can positively shape the experience of first-year full-time undergraduate students participating in first-year seminar courses. The study highlighted the factors contributing to perceived stress among first-year students in their first college semester while evaluating the impact of consistent mindfulness practices on students’ self-reported stress and anxiety levels in a first-year experience program. This study can offer higher education leaders and faculty the strategies and resources to help students manage emotions, cope with stress and anxiety, and maintain overall well-being during the first semester of their college experience.