A prática da meditação por estudantes universitários e as percepções subjetivas de mudanças na vida

Abstract

Introduction: The meditation practice has been used as an intervention strategy to deal with different current problems in the modern world such as violence, difficulty in interpersonal relationships, anxiety, stress, psychic disorders. These themes are currently relevant in the university context. Objectives: This study aims to analyze the subjective perception of changes in the lives of college students from the practice of meditation; to analyze the literature on the topic; to offer meditation practice, adapted to the university context. Methodology: Qualitative research, in two phases: literature review and intervention, with content analysis, through thematic categories and data triangulation. 38 complete articles were selected (BVS and Scielo), in Portuguese and English, published between 2013 and 2018, with the keywords meditation OR mindfulness AND students. The intervention took place in 2019 with two classes, in 10 meetings of 30 minutes each and followed a script of mindfulness and cultivation of virtues elaborated in this research. Inclusion criteria: students at the Federal University of São Carlos enrolled for at least one semester, either undergraduate or graduate. All participants answered the initial question "What motivates you to be in a meditation group?" and the final question “What did the meditation group reflect on your life?”. Review data were compared with the results of the intervention, through the thematic categories. Results and discussion: Of the articles analyzed, only two were Brazilian and seven, qualitative research. There was a predominance of research using the mindfulness technique. Inclusion and exclusion criteria, benefits, methods of intervention and evaluation of results, presence of psychiatric symptoms, difficulties and singularities were observed. Sixteen studies adopted case-control research and the majority worked with short meditations. 32 people participated in the intervention, including 16 in the research. The participation of undergraduate students predominated. The benefits were categorized into: mental health, knowing meditation / creating routine, quality of life, self-care / self-knowledge, breathing, focus / attention / concentration, relationship with people and helping the project. The benefits such as improved quality of life, mental health and self-care were more emphasized and the limitations were related to giving up participation throughout the research, both in the review studies and in the intervention. Conclusions: The study pointed out benefits of meditative practice for university life and systematized the scientific publications on this theme. The scarcity of Brazilian studies and research using qualitative methodologies stands out. Points out the relevance of the practices at this time of life to support health and quality of life for college.