Meaning and mindfulness: an IPA exploration into the meaning-making experience of student leaders after practicing mindfulness exercises.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20320146

Abstract College student government leaders are subject to the stresses experienced by both students and leaders. Also, meaning-making can be an effective buffer against stress (Park and Baumeister, 2017); and mindfulness practice has been found to increase the capacity for meaning-making in response to stressful experience (McConnell and Froeliger, 2015). The purpose of this study is to explore if mindfulness practices are helpful to student leaders in the experience of meaning-making as they live in the stress of their dual roles. Mindfulness theory, as understood by Jon Kabat-Zinn (1982, 2003, 2015), served as the theoretical lens for studying the experience of student leaders at a private, liberal arts university in the Midwestern United States. Using semi-structured interviews, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was the research method used. The study found that student leaders developed new mindfulness habits after completing an eight-week mindfulness course, and that student leaders also experienced stress relief after practicing these exercises. In addition, student leaders who practiced mindfulness exercises experienced both savoring and positive reappraisal-two core elements of meaning-making through mindfulness (Garland, et al., 2015). Finally, this study suggests that both student leaders and student affairs professionals may be helped through the implementation of mindfulness training for student leaders. Keywords: student leaders, meaning-making, mindfulness, savoring, positive reappraisal.