The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Group Counseling in Reducing Academic Stress Among Students of MTs N 2 Bandung

Abstract

among Islamic junior high school (madrasah tsanawiyah) students due to the dual curriculum load, grade demands, and parental expectations. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based group counseling in reducing the academic stress of students at MTsN 2 Bandung. A quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group pretest–posttest design was employed. The subjects were 24 eighth-grade students with moderate to high academic stress selected through purposive sampling and assigned to an experimental group (n = 12) and a control group (n = 12). The experimental group attended six sessions of mindfulness-based group counseling, while the control group received regular information services. Data were collected using a 30-item academic stress scale and analyzed using paired-samples t-tests, independent-samples t-tests on gain scores, and Cohen’s d effect size. The results showed that the mean academic stress of the experimental group decreased from 107.67 to 91.33 (t(11) = 6.65; p < 0.001), whereas the control group showed no significant change (p = 0.560). The between-group difference in gain scores was significant (t(22) = 4.24; p < 0.001; d = 1.73). Thus, mindfulness-based group counseling is effective in reducing students’ academic stress and is worth integrating into madrasah guidance and counseling programs.