Walking the Talk: a Randomized Trial Exploring the Role of Mindfulness Booster Sessions on Skill Acquisition Following Workshop Attendance

Objectives Conventional 8-week mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) require substantial time and in-person attendance. Single-workshop MBIs provide an accessible training alternative but offer little opportunity to integrate teaching and daily practice. The present study investigated whether online mindfulness booster sessions, following a single MBI workshop, promote well-being through improved acquisition of mindfulness skills in undergraduate students.Methods Following workshop attendance, participants (n = 101) were randomized to either a booster session condition or active control condition. Mood and stress were assessed daily in both groups for 1 month, with an additional 3 min of mindfulness prompts in the booster condition. Scale-based assessments were completed pre-workshop, post-workshop, and post-intervention. Data were reduced via planned factor analysis to form Decentering, Reactivity, and Symptom Burden scores. Mindfulness-related skills were assessed post-intervention via the Applied Mindfulness Process Scale (AMPS).Results Booster sessions promoted significantly greater increases in Decentering over the intervention period, beta = 0.26, 95% CI [0.09, 0.44]; independent of baseline Decentering. Change in Decentering was significantly positively associated with AMPS positive emotion regulation, beta = 0.09, 95% CI [0.01, 0.18]. No changes were observed for Reactivity or Symptom Burden.ConclusionsContinued mindfulness practice following completion of a single MBI workshop may aid in the cultivation of Decentering. Future research should investigate the efficacy of booster sessions in clinical and community samples to determine whether growth in Decentering promotes additional mental health benefits over longitudinal follow-up.Pre-registrationStudy hypotheses and the data analyses plan were pre-registered with the Open Science Framework, which can be accessed via .

Automated summary

This study investigated the impact of online mindfulness booster sessions on the acquisition of mindfulness skills and the promotion of well-being in undergraduate students. The results showed that the booster sessions significantly increased the participants' ability to decenter from self and were positively associated with positive emotion regulation. This study demonstrates the importance of continuing mindfulness practice in cultivating the ability to decenter from self.