Measuring the Effectiveness of a Multicomponent Program to Manage Academic Stress through a Resilience to Stress Index

Abstract

In this work, we evaluate the effectiveness of a multicomponent program that includes psychoeducation in academic stress, mindfulness training, and biofeedback-assisted mindfulness, while enhancing the Resilience to Stress Index (RSI) of students through the control of autonomic recovery from psychological stress. Participants are university students enrolled in a program of excellence and are granted an academic scholarship. The dataset consists of an intentional sample of 38 undergraduate students with high academic performance, 71% (27) women, 29% (11) men, and 0% (0) non-binary, with an average age of 20 years. The group belongs to the “Leaders of Tomorrow” scholarship program from Tecnológico de Monterrey University, in Mexico. The program is structured in 16 individual sessions during an eight-week period, divided into three phases: pre-test evaluation, training program, and post-test evaluation. During the evaluation test, an assessment of the psychophysiological stress profile is performed while the participants undergo a stress test; it includes simultaneous recording of skin conductance, breathing rate, blood volume pulse, heart rate, and heart rate variability. Based on the pre-test and post-test psychophysiological variables, an RSI is computed under the assumption that changes in physiological signals due to stress can be compared against a calibration stage. The results show that approximately 66% of the participants improved their academic stress management after the multicomponent intervention program. A Welch’s t-test showed a difference in mean RSI scores (t = −2.30, p = 0.025) between the pre-test and post-test phases. Our findings show that the multicomponent program promoted positive changes in the RSI and in the management of the psychophysiological responses to academic stress.