Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Impact Of Mindfulness Training On Test Anxiety In College Students, Lindsay Alcock

ELAIA

Background Mindfulness is defined as the state of giving full attention to a stimulus, internal or external, without inducing judgment or becoming reactional about the feelings experienced, positive or negative (Davis & Hayes, 2012). Previous studies have investigated the relationship between mindfulness techniques and the reduction of anxiety (Chambers et al., 2008; Macdonald & Olsen, 2020); a smaller number of studies have considered test anxiety (Cho et al., 2016; Sparks, 2017). Prior research has used multiple mindfulness techniques to measure the impact on test anxiety, but few have isolated mindfulness trainings to compare the relative impact of each type on …

Supporting Teens’ Professional Identities And Engagement In Mindfulness Practices Through Teens-As-Teachers Programming, Anne Marie Iaccopucci

Journal of Youth Development

This study was situated in the context of the University of California 4-H Positive Youth Development Program. A convenience sample of teen teachers (N = 11) represents variation in age (11–17), gender, ethnicity, and geographic location. All teens delivered the 4-H Mindful Me curriculum from the University of California 4-H Program. Qualitative analysis provides evidence of positive developmental outcomes that support teen teachers’ personal professional identity and engagement in mindfulness. Teens described how involvement in the teens-as-teachers program provided the context in which they could explore their personal professional identity, build on self-efficacy as an instructor, and develop an improved …

Recognizing Roots And Not Just Leaves: The Use Of Integrative Mindfulness In Education, Research, And Practice, Naisargi (Ness) Mehta, Gitika Talwar

Psychology from the Margins

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have entered mainstream psychology practice and research over the last few decades. However, academic literature on MBIs reveals a focus on the European-American populations, and customization of mindfulness to the needs and values of mainstream western mental health. There has been an exclusion of the spiritual and cultural roots of mindfulness; mindfulness has been secularized in ways that undermine indigenous forms of mindfulness that originate from Asian countries such as India and China. While MBIs have been working well for their targeted audience, there need to be avenues for Asian and Asian American communities that follow Buddhist …

Think About It: Using Mindfulness As A Means To Treat Eating Disorders, Gabriella C. Breen

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Eating disorders are complicated and prevalent issues among the general population; it is estimated that 30 million people are affected in the United States alone (Foundation for Research and Education in Eating Disorders, 2018). Because of the complex psychological nature of eating disorders, it is difficult to find a treatment that is broadly effective. Traditional therapies include cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy. In recent years, mindfulness has emerged as a potentially effective way to treat eating disorders due to its ability to reduce maladaptive coping strategies, improve emotional regulation, and treat anorexia nervosa (Cowdrey …

A Consideration Of Transpersonal Research Methods For Studying Yoga And Mindfulness In Schools, Bethany Butzer

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Over the past decade, interest in yoga and mindfulness in schools has grown tremendously, with preliminary research suggesting that these interventions may have a variety of positive effects on youth. However, some quantitative studies of school-based yoga and mindfulness have reported null and/or counterintuitive effects, such as increases in perceived stress, negative affect and psychological symptoms. In addition, some mixed-methods studies that combined quantitative and qualitative approaches have found inconsistent results, with the quantitative outcomes failing to show statistical significance, while students report benefits of yoga and mindfulness in qualitative interviews/focus groups. These inconsistent findings suggest that the field of …

Exploring Mindfulness As An Illness Pathway Between Eating Disorder And Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Emma G. Roberts, Brenna M. Williams, Cheri Levinson

Grawemeyer Colloquium Papers

Eating disorders (EDs) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have high rates of comorbidity. One shared protective factor for PTSD and ED symptoms is mindfulness. However, research on how mindfulness relates to ED-PTSD comorbidity is limited. Thus, the current study used network analysis to explore aspects of mindfulness as illness pathways bridging (i.e., connecting) symptoms among comorbid ED and PTSD symptoms. We hypothesized that mindfulness would negatively relate to ED and PTSD symptoms.

Participants (N=709 undergraduate students) completed self-report ED, PTSD, and mindfulness measures. Network analysis was conducted using R.

Five symptoms were identified as being the most central. …

Mindfulness: How It Affects Pregnancy, Labor And Delivery, Olivia R. Snipes

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Pregnancy is a very physical and mental process during which many women face a wide variety of complications. The influx of hormones that happens during pregnancy has the ability to make pregnant women more susceptible to depression, anxiety and other stress related illnesses. High levels of stress can negatively affect the mother and unborn child and potentially the mother-child relationship. Many women prefer not to take the pharmaceutical route when coping with stress, anxiety and depression while pregnant. As a result, mindfulness practices have been utilized as an alternative method to reduce the negative effects of these complications and lower …

Mindfulness Therapy Is An Effective Adjunctive Treatment For Adolescents Living With Hiv, Samantha Rea

Clinical Research in Practice: The Journal of Team Hippocrates

A clinical decision report appraising Webb L, Perry-Parrish C, Ellen J, Sibinga E. Mindfulness instruction for HIV-infected youth: a randomized controlled trial. AIDS Care. 2018;30(6):688–695. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2017.1394434

Diverse Mindfulness Practices For Bipolar Recovery: Qualitative Study Results, Sasha Strong

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This study investigated the lived experience of Buddhist-informed mindfulness practice and its utilization in recovery from bipolar disorder (BD) in 9 adult participants. Established mindfulness based interventions (MBIs) decontextualize mindfulness practice from a Buddhist theory base, omitting conceptual frameworks that may have adaptive value in recovery from BD. In interviews, participants reported blending techniques learned from various Buddhist lineages throughout the course of their recovery, as well as a variety of other contemplative practices such as techniques to cultivate adaptive emotions, devotional practices, visualization practices, embodiment practices, investigative practices, and informal daily practice. Mindfulness practice for recovery from BD is …

Mindfulness Based Intervention For Needle Phobia: A Pilot Study Of Dissociated Ego State Resolution, Genine P. Smith, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This pilot study was designed to investigate the efficacy of a mindfulness based intervention for the treatment of needle phobia. The research question was whether one session of the dissociated ego state [DES] trauma release intervention would result in significant and durable release of needle phobia. It was hypothesized that the process tested in this study may reduce needle phobia by locating, identifying, and engaging with a dissociated aspect of the psyche developed from earlier trauma. Six participants who self reported fear of needles and resulting avoidance of medical assistance completed one 60-minute, individual session of a mindfulness based protocol …

Mindfulness: A Promising Practice To Reduce Accountant Stress, Abigail Anderson

Marriott Student Review

This article considers the practice of mindfulness as an approach to reduce stress within the lives of accountants. Mindfulness has existed for centuries as a Buddhist tradition and has only recently become popular in the Western world as a stress-reduction technique that can lead to improved mental and emotional well-being. This article also examines the prevalence of mindfulness within the Top 10 accounting firms in the United States and some results regarding employee performance. As more and more firms begin to utilize mindfulness as a low-cost method to better employee performance and well-being, university accounting programs should consider incorporating the …

Creatively Exploring Self: Applying Organic Inquiry, A Transpersonal And Intuitive Methodology, Larisa J. Bardsley Phd

The Qualitative Report

This article explores the merit of using Organic Inquiry, a qualitative research approach that is most effectively applied to areas of psychological and spiritual growth. Organic Inquiry is a research approach where the psyche of the researcher becomes the instrument of the research, working in partnership with the experiences of participants and guided by liminal and spiritual influences. Organic Inquiry is presented as a unique methodology that can incorporate other non-traditional research methods, including intuitive, autoethnographic and creative techniques. The validity and application of Organic Inquiry, as well as its strengths and limitations are discussed in the light of the …

From "Hooah" To "Om": Mindfulness Practices For A Military Population, Kimberlee B. Bonura, Dawn M. Fountain

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Mindfulness practices, in general, have a growing body of evidence of effectiveness for improving both physical health and mental health. Further, these practices are showing promise when implemented with military populations for mental health issues such as PTSD. Challenges arise for practitioners in understanding the military's cultural differences and the functional aspects of mindfulness that may be specifically useful to military members. We outline strategies for referring military members to quality services and instruction, as well as best practices for connecting with military clients. Recommendations are made for further research with female service members and using single case design.

A Brief Evidence-Based Intervention To Enhance Workplace Well-Being And Flourishing In Health Care Professionals: Feasibility And Pilot Outcomes, Abbie O. Beacham, Alison Brainard, Norah Janosy, Jennifer Reese

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: The deleterious direct and indirect effects of burnout among physicians and other health care professionals and learners have been well documented. Recently, there have been calls to shift the focus from distress and burnout to enhancing well-being of health care providers and learners. To this end, we developed a brief, well-being focused intervention entitled “CU Flourish” embedded in PERMA theory: positive emotion (P), engagement (E), relationships (R), meaning (M), and accomplishment (A) with a sixth domain – Health – in our working model. Within this framework, elements of values-based interventions, mindful awareness and psychological flexibility inherent to Acceptance and …

Mindfulness And Well-Being: A Mixed Methods Study Of Bilingual Guided Meditation In Higher Education, Chieh Li, Qinghong Ann Cai, Simone Elias, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

This mixed-methods study investigated the acceptability and outcomes of a mindful approach to teaching a foreign language in higher education institutions. The approach included Bilingual Guided Meditation (BGM^®) in the classroom to reduce students’ anxiety and foster a positive mindset. The BGM program combines bilingual positive suggestions with guided meditation and relaxing background music. Results indicated that the BGM may reduce anxiety and can improve academic performance.

The Impact Of Mindfulness Training On Competitive Athletic Performance, Daniel Nelson

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

No abstract provided.

Addressing Diversity In Mindfulness Research On Health: A Narrative Review Using The Addressing Framework, Gabrielle Chin, Vanessa Anyanso, Jeffrey Greeson

Cooper Rowan Medical Journal

ABSTRACT

Objective: Despite burgeoning popularity of mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in medicine, it remains unclear to what extent scientific evidence reflects diverse populations, including the medically underserved. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the current state of inclusion and diversity in mindfulness research focused on physical and mental health through Pamela Hays’ ADDRESSING Framework.

Methods: Authors searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases through September 2018. Articles were included if they were English, peer-reviewed articles detailing findings from a quantitative study on health-related outcomes. Review articles, letters to the editor, and qualitative studies were excluded.

Results: …

Permeating Presence: Examining The Effects Of Mindfulness-Trained Supervisors On Employee Performance, Pearl Marquez

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

Mindfulness is a process that uses sustained attention (Bishop et al., 2004) to be aware of the surrounding environment (Langer & Moldoveanu, 2000) while holding a nonjudgmental orientation towards one’s self and others (Bergomi, et al., 2012). Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) teach mindfulness through different exercises, like breathing techniques to increase mindfulness. MBIs are becoming of interest to organizations due to the possibility of increasing job performance amongst employees (Shonin et al., 2014). MBIs have also been used to demonstrate the effects of trained mindfulness on intrapersonal relationships; however, these possible effects on interpersonal relationships have not been examined in an …

Efficaciousness Of Mindfulness Interventions For Trauma Using Psychophysiological Measures: A Review, Sherief Y. Eldeeb

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

In recent decades the efficaciousness of mindfulness has been proven in a wide variety of contexts, but some crucial populations remain understudied. This review critically examines the literature on mindfulness in individuals with trauma using psychophysiological measures. Psychophysiological measures offer critical insight into this intersection of mindfulness and trauma due to the known somatic components in each, as well as serving as an objective response. Mindfulness-based treatments seem to show great promise in treating trauma, however there are significant limitations in the literature. Future studies should standardize the minimum length of treatment, utilize gender-balanced and ethnically diverse samples, and introduce …

Integrating Mindfulness Into The Training Of Helping Professionals, Christina Tortolani Ph.D., Kristin Malatino Ph.D., Elizabeth G. Holtzman Ph.D., Prachi Kene Ph.D., Kalina M. Brabeck Ph.D., Christine Kunkel Ph.D.

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Mindfulness refers to the purposeful and nonjudgmental focus on internal and external experiences in the present moment. Extensive research in the fields of psychology, medicine, and counseling has explored the use and benefits of mindfulness-based practice in general. Such research has determined that mindfulness enhances skill development and counselor preparation within the human service professions. Therapeutic and educational settings have thus increasingly embraced mindfulness practices. This exploratory paper posits that the study and practice of mindfulness can be beneficial for both faculty and graduate students in the fields of Mental Health, School Counseling, and School Psychology. The aims of this …

Applying A Mindfulness Practice To Qualitative Data Collection, Laura Lemon

The Qualitative Report

Mindfulness, or paying attention on purpose in the present moment, can serve as a tool for qualitative researchers as they navigate the research setting and data collection. In this article, I provide an overview of mindfulness and suggest ways to incorporate mindfulness as a data collection tool. To demonstrate how to apply mindfulness to qualitative research, I share my personal experience in incorporating a mindfulness practice into data collection as part of a phenomenological study and what I learned in the process. In doing so, I offer an actual practice that researchers can incorporate into the research process as a …

Peace Guardians, Watts Bears And The Maori Haka, Zachariah Fisher

The STEAM Journal

In the summer of 2017, Peace Guardians carried out a summer school program for twenty inner city kids ranging from 8-13 years old in Watts Los Angeles. The program was part of the annual Watts Bears summer school. The Watts Bears are group of student football and track athletes coached by the Los Angeles Police Department. Working in conjunction with the Watts officers and coaches, Peace Guardians and guest teachers spent four hours a day with the students facilitating mindfulness exercises and the Haka as wellness tools to incorporate into their lives in and out of the classroom and football …

“If I Don’T Take Care Of Myself, I Can’T Take Care Of Them:” Exploring Caregiving Grandmothers’ Experiences Of A 9-Session Self-Care Curriculum, Jacquelyn J. Lee Phd, Lcsw, Stacey R. Kolomer Phd

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Abstract

The predominance of research on custodial grandparent caregiving focuses on prevalence, risk factors, and challenges; less attention has been paid to the development of interventions to support this population. In response to a decrease in length of service provision at a local agency, a 9-session self-care curriculum was designed to focus on caregiver health through the empowering, multi-dimensional practice of self-care. The curriculum uses a mind-body approach and was integrated into a pre-existing 9-month support program for grandparents raising grandchildren. Using a basic, interpretive qualitative design, the purpose of this study was to explore how grandparent caregivers: 1) understand …

Leveraging Components Of Mbsr To Minimize Stress And Maximize Performance, Montana L. Drawbaugh

The Kabod

Mindfulness, a fairly new concept, is considered enhanced awareness and attention. This state of mind can result in decentering or reperceiving, a notion where an individual reframes how he or she evaluates experiences to view them as an external witness from an objective stance. A large branch of mindfulness research studies how mindfulness can be fostered and used to engender positive outcomes. Perhaps the most well-known mindfulness intervention is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), an eight-week program comprised of three parts. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of each of these components, as well as identify the most effective component, …

Effects Of Music On Stress And Mindfulness, Brittany Mckenzie

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The possible differential effects that Zen and electronic dance music (EDM) have on stress and mindfulness were analyzed. The purpose of this study is to understand if certain factors of music are more influential on stress levels and mindfulness scores. Factors of music that were analyzed include different genres and the tempo or pace of these music genres. Fifty-six adult participants ages 17-79 completed an online survey. The online survey had participants complete a mental rotation task then rate their perceived state stress levels and mindfulness scores for baseline measures. Participants listened to either a 3 min. audio file of …

Presence And The Paradox Of Love, Joanne Burtch

CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the Twenty-First Century

Spiritual experiences often seem unrelated to the intellectual orientation of science. However, some discussion of the laboratory study of spiritual practice does attempt to include the mystery and the human experience in its dialogue. An exploration of the paradox of love demonstrates how it might be possible to find a relationship between the scientific understanding of spirituality and the profundity of spiritual experience.

The Effect Of Internally Versus Externally Focused Balance Training On Mindfulness, Kathleen J. Pantano, Jeremy E. C. Genovese

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The purpose of this study was to determine how alternative types of instruction provided during a 6-week balance exercise program affect mindfulness. A sample of 63 college students was recruited for the study. Group 1 (N = 33) received a 6-week balance exercise intervention instructed with an internal focus of attention (IFA). Group 2 (N = 30) received the same intervention, but exercises were instructed with an external focus of attention (EFA). Mindfulness was measured at baseline and at 6 weeks using the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI). Baseline FMI scores between groups were similar (Group 1: 41.6; Group 2: 41.3), …

Developing Wildland Firefighters’ Performance Capacity Through Awareness-Based Processes: A Qualitative Investigation, Alexis L. Waldron, Vicki Ebbeck

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

Wildland firefighting is environmentally and socially a risky and complex occupation. Although much attention has been given to understanding the physical components in fighting wildland fire, much less time has been devoted to understanding and developing the capacity of wildland firefighters to handle the dynamic pressures of the physical and social environments. The purpose of this study was to explore the receptiveness, utility, effectiveness, and potential improvements for a mindful and self-compassionate awareness program developed for the wildland fire environment. The program was based on the use of a conceptual tool to refocus awareness and move self-compassionately through key aspects …

The Art Of Observation And Experience, Andrée Salom

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Mindfulness practices aim to develop intentional awareness of the present moment. This paper touches on two of the difficulties that may arise in the course of such practice. On the one hand, the present moment may be overwhelming if there is an over-identification with the content that the practices uncover. On the other hand, the present moment may seem excessively foreign if there is an over-identification with the witnessing of such content. Art can prevent an over-identification on both poles of this equation by acting as a container for content, a source of somatic discharge, and a facilitator for observing …

Musical Creativity And Mindfulness Meditation: Can The Practice Of Mindfulness Meditation Enhance Perceived Musical Creativity?, John Z. Newton

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The relationship between musical creativity and mindfulness meditation is explored through a qualitative study of three composers’ individual experiences of musical creativity and participation in eight guided mindfulness meditation sessions. Through qualitative interviews conducted before and after completion of a mindfulness course, data was analyzed and categorized into themes in order to identify whether the practice of mindfulness meditation had enhanced participants’ perceived musical creativity. Themes from the first set of interviews (Expression, Harmony, Intuition) represent the participants’ subjective experience of musical creativity, while themes from the second set (Enhanced focus and awareness, Nonstriving) outline subjective changes reported by each …