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Positive Impact of Mindfulness Meditation on Mental Health of Female Teachers during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Alessio Matiz

    (Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy)

  • Franco Fabbro

    (Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy
    Perceptual Robotics (PERCRO) Laboratory Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, 56010 Pisa, Italy)

  • Andrea Paschetto

    (Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy)

  • Damiano Cantone

    (Department of Psychology, University of Rome La Sapienza, 00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Anselmo Roberto Paolone

    (Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy)

  • Cristiano Crescentini

    (Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy)

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent public health measures were shown to impact negatively on people’s mental health. In particular, women were reported to be at higher risk than men of developing symptoms of stress/anxiety/depression, and resilience was considered a key factor for positive mental health outcomes. In the present study, a sample of Italian female teachers ( n = 66, age: 51.5 ± 7.9 years) was assessed with self-report instruments one month before and one month after the start of the Covid-19 lockdown: mindfulness skills, empathy, personality profiles, interoceptive awareness, psychological well-being, emotional distress and burnout levels were measured. Meanwhile, they received an 8-week Mindfulness-Oriented Meditation (MOM) course, through two group meetings and six individual video-lessons. Based on baseline personality profiles, analyses of variance were performed in a low-resilience (LR, n = 32) and a high-resilience (HR, n = 26) group. The LR and HR groups differed at baseline in most of the self-report measures. Pre–post MOM significant improvements were found in both groups in anxiety, depression, affective empathy, emotional exhaustion, psychological well-being, interoceptive awareness, character traits and mindfulness levels. Improvements in depression and psychological well-being were higher in the LR vs. HR group. We conclude that mindfulness-based training can effectively mitigate the psychological negative consequences of the Covid-19 outbreak, helping in particular to restore well-being in the most vulnerable individuals.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessio Matiz & Franco Fabbro & Andrea Paschetto & Damiano Cantone & Anselmo Roberto Paolone & Cristiano Crescentini, 2020. "Positive Impact of Mindfulness Meditation on Mental Health of Female Teachers during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-22, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:18:p:6450-:d:408974
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Benita Wielgus & Witold Urban & Aleksandra Patriak & Łukasz Cichocki, 2020. "Examining the Associations between Psychological Flexibility, Mindfulness, Psychosomatic Functioning, and Anxiety during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Path Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-13, November.
    3. Bu Zhong & Lola Xie, 2023. "Making “Joy Pie” to Stay Joyful: Self-Care Interventions Alleviate College Students’ Mental Health Challenges," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-19, February.
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    5. Alessandra Accoto & Salvatore Gaetano Chiarella & Antonino Raffone & Antonella Montano & Adriano de Marco & Francesco Mainiero & Roberta Rubbino & Alessandro Valzania & David Conversi, 2021. "Beneficial Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on the Well-Being of a Female Sample during the First Total Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Chan-Young Kwon, 2023. "Research and Public Interest in Mindfulness in the COVID-19 and Post-COVID-19 Era: A Bibliometric and Google Trends Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-16, February.
    7. Kunal Desai & Pratibha Gupta & Priti Parikh & Alpa Desai, 2021. "Impact of Virtual Heartfulness Meditation Program on Stress, Quality of Sleep, and Psychological Wellbeing during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Method Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-10, October.
    8. Xiulan Cheng & Ying Ma & Jiaqi Li & Yonghui Cai & Ling Li & Jiao Zhang, 2020. "Mindfulness and Psychological Distress in Kindergarten Teachers: The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-11, November.
    9. Tzofnat Zadok-Gurman & Ronit Jakobovich & Eti Dvash & Keren Zafrani & Benjamin Rolnik & Ariel B. Ganz & Shahar Lev-Ari, 2021. "Effect of Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) Intervention on Well-Being, Resilience and Burnout of Teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-14, April.

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