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Article Critique
Nerea A. Dougan Ndong
Department of Counseling, Mercy University
CNSL 673 DFA: Research Methodology
Dr. Jack Simmons
September 29, 2026
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Many university students face mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, and
psychological distress. That is normally due to different life stresses such as difficult study
programs, occupational stress, social acceptance, financial difficulties, lack of free time, or
separation from their families. Current mental health interventions typically involve
pharmacological and clinical therapy, which can be inaccessible for young adults. In the research
article titled “Effectiveness of Physical Activity, Mindfulness and Mind-body Therapies in
Improving Mental Health of University Students: A Systematic Review of RCTS,” the authors
Laura Garcia-Perez, Maria Elena Atencia-Rodriguez, Mar Cepero-Gonzalez and Rosario PadialRuz conducted a systematic review on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to examine the
effectiveness of face-to-face physical activity, mindfulness and mind-body therapy interventions
on university students’ mental health. Although the article supports its claims with the inclusion
of global studies and compliance with PRISMA guidelines, it contains limitations such as selfreports, high heterogeneity, and insufficient procedural detail.
In their 2025 systematic review - published to the Journal of American College Health Garcia-Perez et al. Evaluate the efficacy of face-to-face physical activity, mindfulness, and
mind-body therapies in improving university students’ mental health. The authors followed the
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Guidelines to
select eligible studies and reduce the risk of study-selection bias. The authors reviewed 18
randomized controlled trials published between the years 2007 and 2023, intentionally avoiding
articles published around the COVID-19 pandemic to eliminate confounding variables. The 18
studies had a total of 2,325 participants aged 18-25 and included interventions such as Physical
activity, mindfulness and mind-body therapies. Their results showed that 89% of the reviewed
studies reported a significant reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression. The authors encourage
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university institutions to implement physical activity and mind-body therapy interventions as
they can reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, and improve school performance. They
also encourage future longitudinal studies regarding this topic to develop more practical and
effective mental health interventions.
The authors contributed to a crucial and ongoing conversation around the risk of poor mental
health amongst university students. They acknowledged the need for accessible interventions
besides clinical therapy and pharmacological treatments. Additionally, although previous studies
predominantly focused on either physical activity or mindfulness exercises, Garcia-Perez et al.
(2025) adopted a unique approach by implementing mind-body therapy as a third intervention.
The authors demonstrated transparency by cautiously utilizing the PRISMA guidelines to reduce
assessment-biases. Finally, they included articles from different geographic regions - The United
States, United Kingdom, China, Spain, Norway, South Korea, Ecuador, and Brazil – with the
goal of expanding the review findings to a larger demographic.
Notwithstanding the strengths, the article had its deficiencies. First, the RTC studies relied
heavily on subjective self-reports rather than systematic clinical diagnoses. This compromises
the objectivity of the study due to potential social desirability bias and mood fluctuations
amongst the participants. Second, there is a presence of high heterogeneity by mixing studies
with different procedures; grouping physical activity, mindfulness, and mind-body therapy
together makes it difficult to measure the effectiveness of each intervention. Furthermore, despite
operating under the PRISMA guidelines, the vast majority of the RCT studies reported a high
success rate. The over-representation of positive results limits the generalizability of those
findings to larger student demographics. Lastly, despite using accessible literature to support
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replication, the authors provided insufficient details on the procedures and specific interventions
used during the sessions.
Overall, Garcia-Perez et al. (2025) offered their insight on the current conversation regarding
university students’ mental health and the advocated for the necessity of non-clinical
interventions. The review’s global selection of studies, incorporation of mind-body therapeutic
interventions, and transparency regarding PRISMA protocols, strengthened their claim that
holistic approaches significantly improve university students’ mental health. However, the
article’s reliance on self-reports, high heterogeneity, and the lack of procedural details limits the
ability to replicate and generalize the study. Future research should address these limitations by
employing longitudinal studies with standardized, objective diagnoses, and detailed descriptions
of the procedures.
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References
Laura García-Pérez, Maria Elena Atencia-Rodriguez, Mar Cepero-González
& Rosario Padial-Ruz (22 Apr 2025): Effectiveness of physical activity, mindfulness and
mind- body therapies in improving mental health of university students: a systematic
review of RCTS, Journal of American College Health, DOI:
10.1080/07448481.2025.2492174