A Program of Stress Management In A College Setting

Product Description

During the Spring semester of 1982, a program of stress management workshops was developed at Baruch College to bring the benefits of stress reduction to students. The
program employed the Open Focus attention training technique. Data for 4 semesters have been examined to evaluate the results of using Open Focus attention in this
program. During the first two semesters, Open Focus attention training was used without biofeedback training. In Spring 1983, biofeedback training was incorporated
into the program and used during the Spring and Fall 1983 semesters. Changes in grade point average (GPA), stress related symptoms and physiological measures were
examined. Two studies have been previously reported (Valdes, 1985a, 1985b). In the first study, the experimental subjects’ stress data were reported. In the second study,
changes in GPA and stress data for experimental and control subjects were reported. The third study, reported in the present paper, introduced an additional control group: the conversation “rap session” control group. Changes in the same variables for experimental, control non-treatment, and conversation “rap session” control subjects were evaluated. Students in the control group showed decreased GPA, while those who participated in Open Focus training showed a trend toward improved GPA. All selected stress-related variables representative of different categories of stress showed significant improvement, as did physiological measures in all biofeedback modalities in which the experimental subjects were trained. Significantly greater
improvement was shown by the experimental subjects over the control non- treatment and “rap-sessions” control groups. No significant change was found between the two control groups. As in the previous studies, these results support the hypothesis that the workshops were successful in reducing stress levels, and suggest that additional research, with other populations, be conducted to replicate these findings.