Stress management interventions for college students: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effects of stress management interventions in reducing stress, depression, and anxiety among college students. Two separate meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials were conducted using the random-effects model, for students with high-stress levels (n = 8) and for the unselected college student population (n = 46). Overall, main results showed moderate intervention effects for stress, depression, and anxiety in both groups. Subgroup analyses yielded significant differences related to the theoretical background, the type of control condition, and the length of the intervention in trials targeting students with high-stress levels. However, these subgroup differences, except for the theoretical background, were not observed in trials including unselected samples. Our results suggest that stress management interventions may be effective in reducing distress among college students.