Background: The incidence of depression is associated with decreased social, occupational, and educational performance. Students are at risk for the disorder due to relocation, separation from family, academic stress, and other causes.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness training on executive functions and mood in students with depression.
Method: This research was conducted as a semi-experimental research using pre-test post-test design with control group. The statistical population of this study was all male and female college students of the Persian Gulf University of Bushehr who were studying in the academic year 2019-2020. To select the sample, in the first stage, 500 student (250 female students and 250 male students) were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. In the second stage, after identifying students with depression (n = 67) based on the cut-off point (23) of the Beck Depression Inventory, 30 of them were replaced by gender-matched methods in the experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent mindfulness training for eight sessions; while the control group did not receive any training. At the end of the training, the participants were retested. In order to measure the variables, Beck Depression Inventory (short form), Watson et al.'s Mood Questionnaire and Stroop test computer software, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Daneman & Carpenter Working Memory Test were used. In order to analyze the data using SPSS-26 software and descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis of covariance was used to test the research hypotheses.
Result: The results showed that mindfulness training improved working memory, inhibition and cognitive flexibility of students with depression and increased their scores. This training was also effective in increasing positive mood and decreasing negative mood.