Mindful Response to Adversity: A Brief Stress Resilience Training

The investigators will conduct an intervention study with the aim of improving stress resilience and mental health outcomes in at-risk freshman students. The investigators will also work closely with institutional officials to assess whether the intervention can improve student well-being. Specifically, the project aims to teach freshman students (who are at high risk for depression) skills in how to foster a mindful response to adversity at the beginning of the school term, along with periodic support reminders (via text message) during high stress/vulnerability periods over the course of the semester. The investigators will adopt a randomized controlled trial approach to rigorously evaluate whether this intervention can be adopted as a standard onboarding program for all incoming freshman students during the first weeks of orientation on the CMU campus. Participants will come for the study session and provide a dried blood spot sample and complete a battery of self-report questionnaires. Participants will attend a group training session, led by a professional instructor, about responding to adversity, which will include a description of the skills, a writing and sharing activity focused on the proposed approach, and a practice session. Following the training, participants will be instructed to practice the skills that the participants just learned during a group version of a standard stress-induction task called the Trier Social Stress Task (the TSST-G). Salivary cortisol measures will be collected throughout the TSST-G. The treatment condition will be trained in techniques designed to teach a "mindful approach to adversity". These techniques will include: normalizing, attention, equanimity, non-judgment, de-centering, accepting of experiences, and impermanence. Participants will be instructed on the mindset, asked to write about an instance of non-judgment and share with a partner, and then guided through a short training designed to practice each skill. The control condition will be trained in techniques designed to teach a typical narrative self-analysis / strengths-based approach to adversity. These techniques will include: choosing the best approach, minimizing stress, and identifying and enhancing personal strengths. Participants will be instructed on the mindset, asked to write about an instance of personal strength and share with a partner, and then guided through a short training designed to practice each skill. Daily diary measures will be collected for 7 days following the study session and 1 week before the follow-up session. Microhit boosters will be sent to participants at self-identified high stress periods, which remind participants of the training session skills. Participants will come for the follow-up session and provide a dried blood spot sample and complete a battery of self-report questionnaires.