Spaces: A Student-Informed, Course-Based Program to Enhance Wellbeing and Present-Moment Awareness in University Undergraduates

IntroductionThe wellbeing of university undergraduates is a pressing area of concern, with one in five students reporting serious psychological distress. In previous semesters of a course on mental wellbeing, we asked undergraduates to engage with a standardized wellness program for the general population and provide feedback through weekly surveys and a final reflection paper. Based on these responses, we developed the 30-day, course-embedded Spaces program to more specifically address college student needs. MethodsThe Spaces program incorporates intrinsically pleasurable activities and short presence practices. We piloted the program in a cohort of 30 students during the Fall 2024 semester. Students completed weekly surveys measuring anxiety, depression, and wellbeing, pre-post surveys on present-moment awareness, and a post-program engagement scale. ResultsOver the five program weeks, students in the Spaces semester experienced significantly less anxiety (F(1,4)=38.40, P=0.003) and depression (F(1,4)=32.87, P=0.005) and more wellbeing (F(1,4)=65.86, P=0.001) than those in semesters with the standardized program, and increased present-moment awareness compared to baseline (t(27)=3.859, P=0.0006). Engagement with specific components predicted improvements in mood and attention. DiscussionThese findings highlight the potential of an iterative approach that incorporates input from the target population in enhancing the ability of a wellness program to meet its goals.