Publications by authors named "Jayson Spas"

Background: Mindfulness-based programs have the potential to improve the well-being of undergraduate students by reducing anxiety, depression, and isolation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore lived experiences of undergraduates in a mindfulness-based program at a "college of opportunity" that has high proportions of first-generation college students. Specifically, we sought to: (1) explore the application of mindfulness practices in students' daily lives; (2) explore how participants believe mindfulness training affected their health and well-being; (3) learn participants' recommendations and suggested changes for mindfulness-based interventions in future iterations.

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Objective: To evaluate effects of a mindfulness-based program, adapted to the young adult life course stage (age, 18-29 years), named Mindfulness-Based College (MB-College). The primary outcome was a young adult health summary score, composed of key health risk factors: body mass index, physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, alcohol consumption, stress, loneliness, and sleep duration. Secondary outcomes were hypothesized self-regulation mechanisms, including attention control, interoceptive awareness, and emotion regulation.

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Opioid use has become an epidemic in the USA. Although there are safe uses for opioids to help manage acute pain, the effects of long-term use and any misuse of opioids can have grave outcomes, including death. To provide an empirically based "ask" for increased funding from the federal government to increase the reimbursement for and the integration of the behavioral component of Medication-Assisted-Treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders, current policy was reviewed and important gaps in funding and treatment fidelity were identified.

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Considerable evidence from the literature on treatment outcomes indicates that substance abuse treatment among adolescents with conduct problems varies widely. Treatments commonly used among this population are cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), 12-step facilitation, multisystemic therapy (MST), psychoeducation (PE), and motivational interviewing (MI). This manuscript thoroughly and systematically reviews the available literature to determine which treatment is optimal for substance-abusing adolescents with conduct problems.

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The transition to high school is studied as a time when students may experience disruptions in their social support systems. Peer support, family support, and school belonging were hypothesized to be associated with adolescent adjustment, specifically depressive symptoms. Participants included 104 eighth graders and 101 ninth graders from a middle- to high-income, predominantly white community in southern Rhode Island.

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