Effectiveness of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy in Reducing Homesickness and Improving Mental Health

The aim of the study was to examine the efficacy of mindfulness based cognitive therapy in reducing homesickness and enhancing the mental well-being of first-year students at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Gopalganj. The researcher utilized a simple random sampling technique. 202 students (95 males and 107 females) participated in the study and completed the Bangla version of the Utrecht Homesickness Scale and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21. Researcher randomly selected 24 students who scored high on the homesickness scale, dividing them into an experimental group (6 males and 6 females) and a control group (6 males and 6 females). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), a total of eight sessions, was provided to the experimental group. The results revealed a significant and positive association among homesickness and the degrees of stress, anxiety, and depression. The results showed that female students exhibited higher levels of homesickness, stress, anxiety, and depression in comparison to male students. The finding expressed that socioeconomic status did not significantly influence the severity of these variables. Researcher also investigated the efficacy of MBCT in mitigating homesickness and enhancing mental well-being. The post-intervention assessments indicated that the experimental group showed a significant decrease in homesickness, stress, anxiety, and depression in comparison to the control group. The findings indicated that a focused intervention in MBCT can reduce homesickness symptoms and enhance the overall psychological well-being of university students. The findings improve our knowledge of the impact of homesickness on mental well-being and emphasizes the importance of providing assistance to students who encounter homesickness while transitioning to university life.