Mindset over matter: The efficacy of a three-week stress mindset intervention with first-year college students

Although stress is commonly characterized as negative and harmful, recent research has demonstrated that interventions encouraging a more positive mindset about stress (i.e., that stress can have both enhancing and harmful effects) can lead to improved physiological, psychological, and behavioral outcomes. However, these experimentally-induced improvements to health and functioning have rarely been tested over longer intervals of time and appear prone to rapid decay. Our study tested the efficacy of a novel stress mindset intervention including daily 21-day rehearsal on psychosocial health outcomes and daily stress-related processes. Eighty-eight first-year college students were randomized to either a non-intervention control (NIC) or a stress-is-enhancing (SEC) condition. The SEC participated in an interactive seminar providing psychoeducation about the acute stress response and training about how to adopt a more positive stress mindset. All participants completed online surveys for 21-days to record daily processes (perceived stress, stress mindset, affect, and appraisals of daily stressors), and the SEC was encouraged to rehearse stress mindset strategies. Results demonstrated that our intervention produced more adaptive stress mindsets, improved mood symptoms, as well as improved challenge appraisals and perceptions of abilities to cope with daily stressors. This research further supports the efficacy of stress mindset interventions in promoting psychosocial health and more adaptive cognitive responses to daily stress, and also suggests that rehearsal of stress-mindset strategies may help minimize decay over time.