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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

The Expectation Of Emotional Strength And Its Impact On African American Women's Weight, Necole L. Rivers Jan 2015

The Expectation Of Emotional Strength And Its Impact On African American Women's Weight, Necole L. Rivers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American (AA) women have the highest rates of obesity and weight-related diseases of any other cultural group in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between acceptance of the Strong Black Woman (SBW) cultural construct and the following weight-related health factors: body mass index (BMI), high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes mellitus (DM). The hypothesis was that a positive relationship exists between accepting the SBW persona and weight-related health factors. The theory of womanism was used to guide this study. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 127 AA women to participant in an …


A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Psychoeducational Program In Postpartum Support Groups, Marina Pesserl Jan 2015

A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Psychoeducational Program In Postpartum Support Groups, Marina Pesserl

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Postpartum Depression (PPD) affects 15% of women after childbirth. Its etiology includes psychoneuroimmunologic factors with long-lasting postpartum stressors that lead to allostatic overload. Using mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for PPD has not yet been studied. Addressing this literature gap, the potential benefits of including an 8-week MBSR component based on Beck's theory of PPD at support groups were examined in this phenomenological study based on a sample of 10 women and 2 group facilitators. Purposes of the study included describing the experience of PPD and the MBSR program, identifying the stage of behavioral change of the participants, and describing the …