IndexSelection of participantsMaterialsProcedureAnalysisSelection of participants Our study on the effects of mindfulness-based therapy on those affected by anxiety will focus on university students. Our sample is specifically Kennesaw State University students, as this would be easy for us to access. Any Kennesaw State University student may participate in the study, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, etc., as long as they believe they have an anxiety-based disorder, exhibit symptoms of such a disorder, or have been affected by one. clinically diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Anxiety will be defined in this study as a set of emotions characterized by feelings of tension, worry, and various physical changes, such as increased blood pressure, shortness of breath, increased heart rate per minute, etc. (Kazdin, 2000). Since this study will be based on group therapy sessions, it will not require a large number of participants. In this case twenty-thirty should be enough, who will be recruited through flyers distributed on the university campus and by sending collective emails to each student's university address. Once recruited, students will be briefed on what the six-month therapy session will entail, such as its group structure, what mindfulness is and more. Those who are recruited and who last the full six months of study will receive compensation in the form of the opportunity to register for next semester's classes earlier than other students. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Materials The survey that will be used in this study is the DASS-21 (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale). The DASS-21 was selected because it is a shorter version of Lovebond's (1995) 45-question DASS. The scale is also easily obtainable and has been used in many different studies, both clinical and nonclinical, to measure depression, anxiety, and stress. The scale is Likert-based and ranges from 0 (meaning there is no effect) to 3 (meaning there is a significant effect) (Mahmound, Staten, Hall, & Lennie, 2012). The DASS-21 consists of seven parts, with four different response choices, and is a self-report system. To ensure that the DASS-21 is equivalent to the DASS-42, each score is multiplied by two (Ronk, Korman, Hooke, & Page, 2013). According to Osman et al. (2012), “…is not just a measure of distress, but rather a measure of shared causes of anxiety, depression, and stress characterized as a distinct syndrome.” The DASS-21 has been used multiple times by numerous researchers and has proven to be reliable as it stands the test of time. Procedure Our recruits will be asked to take some sort of pre-test before the therapy sessions begin. Using the aforementioned DASS-2, participants will take a test to measure their anxiety levels. After collecting the results, participants will begin their first group therapy session. Over the course of six months, subjects will attend group therapy sessions once a month, at the beginning of each month. Such therapy sessions will be conducted by a trained professional counselor, who will focus the sessions around the idea of mindfulness. According to the American Psychological Association, mindfulness is defined as a psychological state of being aware of and focusing on the present, rather than on past or potentially future events. After the six sessions, a post-test will be carried out, again using the DASS-21, to check whether the sessions were therapeutic.
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