Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of School-Based Mindfulness Intervention On Student Attention And Executive Function: A Meta-Analysis, Sarah E. Rea

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Schools are facing increasing responsibility to foster the social-emotional development of students. One way in which schools can improve student functioning is through school-based mindfulness interventions. Using mindfulness practices, in particular, can teach students to increase their attention of surroundings and internal experiences, and awareness of their thoughts and behaviors. While the evidence-base for mindfulness interventions in schools continues to grow, there are several studies that show promising outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine how large the effect sizes for school-based mindfulness studies are in regard to increasing student attention, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. Results indicate …

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 …

Silence In The Business World, Andrew Nedeljkovic

Honors Projects

This is a research-based paper focused on the uses of silence in business. Silence in this context refers to practices like meditation and mindfulness, rather than silencing the voices of underrepresented groups. This paper looks at the benefits that silence can have for American businesspeople and their firms. It compares the understanding of silence in the United States to the understanding of silence in other cultures.

The Relationship Between Mindfulness, Social Anxiety Traits, And Emotions, Maria Jackeline Diaz

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between mindfulness, social anxiety traits, and emotion processing is the first study of its kind to be looked over. In this study we will assess similarities and differences, plus how they work together to provide further research and understanding of these complexities when combined. Such research can be helpful in making us understand our emotions, as well as how our emotions can be perceived in social functioning and communication.

Law Library Blog (November 2021): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Oflaw

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

The Philosophy Of Mindfulness As A Mode Of Being, Mara Headrick

Quest

Philosophical Essay

Research in progress for PHIL 1301: Introduction to Philosophy

Faculty Mentor: John Macready, Ph.D.

The following essay represents student research produced in an Introduction to Philosophy course at Collin College. Introduction to Philosophy introduces students to metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical theories through critical readings of primary philosophical texts from ancient, medieval, and modern periods. Students practice textual and conceptual analysis of primary sources and learn methods for analyzing and evaluating arguments. As a final project, students compose a final research essay from their reading and research that develops a theory of reality, a theory of knowledge, and describes …

Syllabus Development Of A Mindful Exploration Of Contemplative Chanting Course, Edwin Ebinger

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Contemplative chanting has a long history across a broad cross section of the world’s civilizations. However, with the modern American acceptance and expansion of Eastern-based contemplative practices, chanting has not at present firmly established itself. Within this context, further investigation into the physiological and neurological effects of chanting, the various ritualistic traditions and purported transformational effects of chanting, and the role of chanting within the modern American mindfulness movement is warranted. To this end, a syllabus for graduate level study is developed herein based upon a literature review of the existing English-language discourse, the Lesley University Mindfulness Studies program design, …

Does Decentering Mediate The Relationship Between Mindfulness And Stress And Anxiety?, Hana Hannah Lee

Theses and Dissertations

College students are stressed and unsuccessful efforts to cope can increase risk for poor mental health, including anxiety (American College Health, 2019). Research suggests mindfulness (Bamber & Schneider, 2016) and adaptive emotion regulation (Desrosiers et al. 2013b) can buffer against the deleterious effects of distress. Decentering, a mindful emotion regulation strategy (Chambers et al., 2009), is postulated to be a mechanism by which mindfulness can lead to better mental health (Shapiro et al. 2006). Specific facets of trait mindfulness, namely Nonjudging (NJ) and Nonreactivity (NR) (Mizera et al. 2016), are directly involved in regulating one's emotions, which can help reduce …

Bringing Up Buddhas: How Mindfulness Can Impact The Next Generation, Alex Tzelnic

Mindfulness Studies Theses

The following presents both a rationale paper and a creative thesis on the topic of how mindfulness can meaningfully impact the next generation. Given the daunting issues faced by Generation Alpha (those born after 2010), including climate change, social justice, and mental health, understanding how the tool of mindfulness can best support children, as well as inform the caretakers most influential to them such as parents and educators, is crucial.

The following rationale paper outlines how mindfulness can make an impact in the fields of parenting and education, as well as in addressing the pertinent issues mentioned above. In surveying …

Breath Counting As A Measure Of Sustained Attention In Mindfulness Meditation And Its Effect On Mood, John Clapper, Stephen Ware, Fitria Jong Martinez, Kevin Benitez, Hideya Koshino

Psychology Faculty Publications

A great deal of research is currently being carried out on mindfulness meditation, but most of this research suffers from obvious problems and shortcomings. Particularly lacking are objective, observable measures of mindfulness performance that would make it possible to track long-term improvement while at the same time assuring experimental control during individual sessions. One promising method is the so-called breath counting task (BCT) devised by Levinson et al. (2014), which pairs a button-pressing response with each breath during a meditation-like cognitive task. This study involves two experiments investigating the effects of individual-difference variables such as depression, anxiety, personality (Big 5), …

Law Library Blog (October 2021): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Por Ellas: A Latina’S Autoethnography On Emotions, Achievement And Agentic Learning, Ivonne Barreras

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the United States, students of Spanish-speaking descent classified as Hispanic, Latino, or Latinx attending public school districts continue to demonstrate alarmingly high academic underachievement and dropout rates. Standards-based learning environments and related assessments tend to marginalize people whose lived realities already make the prospect of achievement daunting. In other words, people living amid high-risk factors, including low educational and occupational aspirations, health, or family-related absenteeism, counterculture or early pregnancy, are often among those whose decision to drop out is most often influenced by social and academic experiences (Rumberger, 2011). Research on neuroplasticity and mindfulness explains the influence emotions have …

The Relationship Between Sex Role, Mindfulness, Perceived Stress, Anxiety, And Flow In Team Sport Female Athletes, Vanessa Chafos

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

In recent years, studies have emerged that support the use of mindfulness interventions to enhance sport performance (Cathcart et al, 2014; Gardner & Moore, 2012; Jekauc et al., 2017; Kee & Wang, 2008; Moen et al., 2015). Among these studies, there is a gap in the literature in regards to sex role and mindfulness, perception of stress, and ability to reach a flow state. This study discusses current sport psychology literature and explores the relationship between sex role, mindfulness, perceived stress, anxiety, and flow among 185 team sport female athletes. Correlational Analyses from this study indicated that there is a …

Manipulating Mindful Breathing Versus Mindful Eating: Examining The Effect Of Specific Mindfulness Mechanisms On Food Intake And Eating Disorder Symptoms., Irina Alexandrovna Vanzhula

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background. Understanding which specific mindfulness practices contribute to improvements in ED symptoms, as well as the mechanisms of action by which this change occurs, may help improve MBTs for EDs. The current study aims to compare the effects of various brief mindfulness exercises on state ED symptoms and food intake and to test whether a reduction in state rumination and state difficulties in emotion dysregulation and an increase in awareness of hunger, fullness, and satiety cues mediate these effects. Methods. Two hundred and two undergraduate females participated in the experiment. Participants were randomized to listen to one of the four …

Doing More With Less: A Quantitative Analysis Of Mindfulness, Meditation, Sustainable Consumption Awareness And Practice Among University Undergraduates, Teresa Van Horn

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Climate change, overconsumption, air, and water pollution continue to be pressing issues for society. Given the significant impact of overconsumption, the search for strategies to promote more sustainable behavior has become a topic for investigation. Universities are uniquely positioned to help students work toward sustainable solutions. This research explored the role of mindfulness in university students' sustainable consumption awareness and practice as there are gaps in the literature concerning definitions, constructs, and research regarding mindfulness and sustainable consumption.

To address these disparities, this research used stepwise regression analysis to investigate the extent to which mindfulness and select demographic measures …

Testing An Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Website For Hoarding: A Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial, Jennifer Krafft

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Hoarding disorder is relatively common and seriously affects those who experience it. However, it is difficult to access hoarding treatment, due to barriers such as availability and stigma. Moreover, only one treatment is well-established for hoarding (CBT), and it does not directly address important processes such as mindfulness and acceptance. Therefore, in order to make treatment more useful and easy to access, this study tested a self-help program that focused on teaching mindfulness and acceptance as related to hoarding. The self-help program was compared to a waitlist condition; participants were randomly assigned to use the website or wait 12 weeks. …

The Impact Of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Techniques On Nurse Burnout In An Icu, Heather L. Vincent

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Burnout among nurses has been linked to turnover, negative patient safety and quality outcomes, and higher costs for institutions.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was, in ICU nurses (P), what was the impact of the use of MBSR techniques (I), versus the current state in which no MBSR techniques are practiced (C), on self-reported BO (O), over the course of eight weeks (T).

Evidence: A total of 14 studies were identified in the literature that directly support the implementation of this project. Themes from the literature show that mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques such as meditation, …

Examining Treatment Acceptability Of An Eight-Week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Protocol, Blake William Palmer

Dissertations

The goal of this study is to examine whether levels of perceived stress, experiential avoidance, personality traits including openness to experience and agreeableness, and demographic variables will predict the treatment acceptability (indicated by responses on the Treatment Acceptability and Adherence Scale) of an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. This study collected data in the Spring of 2019. The final number of participants in the study was 116 (40 females, 76 males, Mage = 36, age range: 22-69 years). Participants completed measures including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), the agreeableness and openness to Experience domains …

The Effect Of A Mindfulness-Based Intervention On Attention And Cognitive Control As A Function Of Smartphone Notifications., Joshua D. Upshaw

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Barriers to accessing mobile technology, particularly smartphones, have decreased substantially since the iPhone’s release in 2007, resulting in increased ownership and usage across all ages, genders, and races. Despite their ubiquity in our society, relatively little empirical work has investigated the influence of smartphones on our higher order executive functioning. Prior work has linked smartphone use with impaired cognitive control during cognitively demanding tasks, especially in heavier smartphone users. The goals of the current study were twofold. First, the study aimed to examine the effects of smartphone notifications on cognitive control and attention. And second, to determine the effects of …

The Relationship Between Mindfulness, Proprioceptive Awareness, And Interoceptive Awareness, Casey Ford

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal was to understand mindfulness mechanisms of emotion regulation and body awareness and how these relate to interoceptive and proprioceptive awareness. The 23 participants completed the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer et al., 2006) and the Multidimensional Assessment of Interceptive Awareness (MAIA; Mehling et al., 2012). Then, the participants completed a procedure on the purpose-built Active Movement Extent Discrimination Apparatus (AMEDA; Symes et al., 2010), a device used to measure proprioception at the ankle joint. The entire procedure took one hour to complete. Results did not support the hypothesis that higher levels of mindfulness were related to higher …

A Brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention (Bmbi) To Reduce Teacher Stress And Burnout, Stephen George Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are exposed to a variety of chronic stressors in their work environments that lead to stress, burnout, and the deterioration of physiological systems that promote adaptive responses to stress. The downstream effects of chronic stress and burnout incur substantial costs associated with attrition and stress-related health concerns. Research demonstrates that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have potential to improve teachers’ capacity to manage stress and mitigate its detrimental effects. However, many MBI studies to date have failed to incorporate key elements of methodological rigor and included large dosages despite research suggesting that such dosages are iatrogenic. Furthermore, these studies have not …

Five Facets Of Mindfulness In Pregnancy And Postpartum Periods, Brianna J. Mcneley

Global Honors Theses

Pregnancy, particularly the postpartum period is high risk for women with preexisting mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety. This research investigates if self-reported use of overall mindfulness and individual facets of mindfulness (observe, describe, nonjudging, acting with awareness, and nonreacting), reduce common symptoms associated with these disorders. Pregnant or postpartum participants recruited from social media groups (18+) were asked to self-report symptoms of mania, depression, anxiety, and five facets of mindfulness. Overall mindfulness was significantly negatively correlated with mania, depression, and anxiety, and in particular with nonjudging and acting with awareness. But symptoms were positively correlated …

Attitudes Toward Mindfulness And Adherence In Chronic Pain Management, Sarah Johnson

Global Honors Theses

Chronic pain is a global public health problem, affecting 10-25% of the population. Mindfulness is an effective treatment but requires consistency. Because of its benefit, it is important to examine obstacles to mindfulness practice. In order to determine if negative attitudes toward mindfulness are related to non-adherence, 748 adults with chronic pain were recruited to fill out a series of questionnaires assessing treatment adherence and attitudes toward mindfulness. We found that positive attitudes toward mindfulness predicted reduced adherence. However, those who had more positive feelings toward mindfulness made more attempts at the therapy. Upper and middle-class participants had more positive …

Exploring Our Grief: Mindfulness Guide For Survivors Of Suicide Loss, Elaine Y. Ramos-Rodriguez

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Suicide is one of today’s major health issues. Survivors of suicide loss (SOSL) suffer major and very peculiar adversities in their grieving process. It is important to address the needs of this population as a way to prevent suicide. In fact, it is imperative for this population to take part in activities that promote resiliency and healing after experiencing the loss of a loved one by suicide (postvention). This paper mainly argues that SOSLs are a population poised to benefit from mindfulness practices. A dearth of information exists concerning this particular population and the possible benefits of mindfulness practices for …

Mindfulness As A Personal Strategy To Combat The Negative Effects Of The Attention Economy, Alison Magee

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This paper argues the importance of a personal mindfulness practice as an antidote to the concerning effects of the attention economy. Modern technology is becoming more powerful every day and is giving individuals access to an unprecedented amount of information at the touch of a button. Many technology companies are profiting from gaining and selling the attention of their customers and are contributing to the attention economy. These very technologies have been shown to hijack the attention of consumers and keep them in an addictive feedback loop. Early research suggests mindfulness practices may be an effective strategy for strengthening attention …

Mindfulness Workshop For Airline Pilots, Eric Miller

Mindfulness Studies Theses

The science on mindfulness as it relates specifically to aviation is sparse. It has only been in recent years that mindfulness has been examined as it relates to aviation. That being the case, this paper draws connections from areas that are already well studied with mindfulness; stress, anxiety, attention, and communication. Evidence exists that even short duration mindfulness interventions can have positive effects on mindfulness. The one-day workshop created with this thesis gives pilots a cursory overview of mindfulness as it relates to various areas of commercial aviation. Furthermore, the workshop will teach pilots how these different mindfulness techniques can …

Fostering Resiliency During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Mindfulness And Compassion Training, Jess Okanya Patel

Mindfulness Studies Theses

The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought tremendous and abrupt challenges to various aspects of our daily lives, from school and work to interpersonal relationships. Given the high rates of stress and anxiety brought on by COVID-19, solutions to help ease uncertainty are warranted. This study is intended to provide support, from research on neuroscience, collected from scholarly peer reviewed journals, for the contention that compassion practice may be a potent strategy to reduce caregiver burnout and buffer the adverse mental health impacts of COVID-19 related threats. This study examines mindfulness and compassion, as well as attending to their interrelatedness, so …

Mindfulness Practices For Women’S Midlife Transition, Patricia A. Chilangwa

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Every major period of life brings a unique set of opportunities and challenges. Midlife remains a mostly uncharted territory in the field of human development. Given that women of middle age currently comprise over 17 % of the total population, it is essential that we seek a better understanding of middle age and what may or may not be beneficial during this stage of life. The purpose of this work is to present a supportive academic rationale paper and a creative project consisting of a book with a journal component on mindfulness practices for finding ease and grace in the …

The Impact Of Mindfulness On Healthcare Provider Burnout During Covid-19, Natasha Johnson

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Healthcare providers are subject to unique stress as part of their job in a helping profession and regularly suffer the effects of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Mindfulness-based interventions have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing burnout and addressing the impacts of secondary traumatic stress, however the current COVID-19 pandemic poses a new, more debilitating type of stress to healthcare providers. This paper seeks to examine the existing evidence on the effects of mindfulness in reducing burnout and secondary traumatic stress, incorporate new evidence on the unique stress of COVID-19, and determine if mindfulness interventions remain effective. It also …

Trauma Effects, Empathy, And Dance/Movement Therapy: A Literature Review, Jenna Soldati

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Trauma exists at many levels, affecting people in various ways biologically and emotionally. Trauma and adverse experiences have been researched, suggesting effects on the whole individual including their psychological, physical, and social wellness (Cristobal, 2018; Greenberg, Baron-Cohen, Rosenberg, Fonagy, & Rentfrow, 2018; Levy, Goldstein, & Feldman, 2019; Olofsson, Iddli, Hoffart, Eielsen, & Vrabel, 2020). Similarly, empathy and empathic behaviors exist on a varying scale as well. Investigating the effects of trauma on empathy, themes of resilience emerge in survivors of trauma and provide insight into alternative healing modalities. Dance/movement therapy and other mindfulness-based treatments provide a method of trauma-informed care …