Introduction

1. Just Breathe Design: Mindfulness Training for the Promotion of Health, Well-Being, and Interpersonal Relationship Quality of First-Year College Students Kami Dvorakova1, Jacinda Li1, Moe Kishida2, Mark T. Greenberg1, Steriani Elavsky2, Patricia C. Broderick1 1 The Prevention Research Center, 2 Department of Kinesiology The Pennsylvania State University Introduction College students face increased stress from various developmental, social, and academic demands (Towbes & Cohen, 1996). Substantial evidence indicates the salutary effects of mindfulness-based practices on improving stress management skills, physical and mental health, and quality of life (Shapiro, Brown, & Beigel, 2007; Jain et al., 2007). Mindfulness-based practices may particularly be relevant to first-year college students as they can promote stress resilience and effective emotion regulation to facilitate the transition process (Shapiro et al., 2011). This study will test the overall impact of an 8-sessions college-adapted mindfulness program Learning to Breathe delivered to first-year students living in residential dormitories using conventional pre and post test measures and ecological monetary assessments (EMA). Research design Hypothesis H1: Intervention group will show improvements in (1) daily experiences of mindfulness, emotion regulation, and interpersonal interactions, (2) moment-to-moment patterns of stress reactivity, and (3) overall well- being. H2: On days when students report more time engaging in mindfulness practice they will report lower stress reactivity and improved self-regulation compared to days when students report less practice. H3: Students receiving EMA will have better outcomes in stress, emotions, and health symptoms compared to students who do not receive EMA. H4: The interaction effect of the intervention and EMA on the outcomes will be such that Learning to Breathe + EMA > Learning to Breathe > Control EMA > Control EMA schedule 8-11:59AM Morning + Momentary survey 12:00-3:59PM Momentary survey 4:00-7:59PM Momentary survey 8:00PM-12AM Momentary + End of the day survey Acknowledgement We thank Steriani Elavsky, Trish Broderick, Meg Small, Rob Turrisi, Nilam Ram, Nichole Scaglione, Mariya Shiyko, Mark Agrusti, Kelly Griffith, ResLife, Honors College, and Student Support Services Program. Funding This project is supported by funding by the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through Grant UL1 TR000127. The Bennett Endowment, The Prevention Research Center, and USDA 2011-67001-30117 Childhood Obesity Prevention Training Program.