This research evaluated the effects of a year-long mindfulness intervention in a predominately Black student sample in an urban high-poverty middle school. Five English Language Arts classrooms ( = 56) were randomly assigned to brief daily 5-min mindfulness practice or an active control. Students were measured at three time points throughout the school year on standardized curriculum-based measures of reading performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSexual and gender minority (SGM) populations report numerous mental health disparities relative to heterosexual and cisgender populations, due in part to the effects of minority stress. This article evaluated self-compassion as a coping resource among SGM populations by (a) meta-analyzing the associations between self-compassion, minority stress, and mental health; and (b) synthesizing evidence for the mediating effects of self-compassion between minority stress and mental health. Systematic searches of databases identified 21 papers for the systematic review and 19 for the meta-analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objectives of this study were to examine whether self-compassion may be a protective coping resource against depression and anxiety symptoms for young adults experiencing discrimination and to explore the protective influence of self-compassion among sexual minority young adults (SMYAs) relative to heterosexual peers. Undergraduate college students ( = 251; 189 heterosexual and 62 sexual minority individuals) completed online self-report questionnaires related to discrimination experiences, depression, anxiety, and self-compassion. Two moderated moderation analyses were conducted to (1) identify whether self-compassion buffered the relationship between discrimination and depression and between discrimination and anxiety and (2) whether this buffering effect varied by sexual identity (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResearch suggests that disparities in exclusionary discipline can be explained, in part, by teachers' anti-Black biases in disciplinary decision-making. An emerging body of literature also speaks to the benefits of cultivating mindfulness for bias reduction. The present study adds to the literature by assessing whether mindfulness is associated with differences in teachers' responses to student disciplinary infractions as a function of student signaled race, which was manipulated as a between-subjects factor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProblematic substance use during adolescence predicts numerous adverse outcomes, including increased risk of substance use disorders in adulthood. Adolescents often use substances to cope with stress, particularly adolescents who have experienced environmental stress in childhood (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMindfulness-based programs are a promising intervention modality for reducing disruptive behavior, and (SOF) is one program that teaches internal awareness of personal events (e.g., unpleasant emotions) and a self-regulation strategy to decrease disruptive behaviors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and day-to-day discrimination (hereafter, "discrimination") both contribute to mental health symptomatology in young adulthood, but how these constructs interact and whether they are associated with mental health remains unclear. This study evaluated whether the relation between discrimination in young adulthood and mental health symptomatology varied as a function of ACEs exposure.
Methods: Undergraduates (n = 251) completed self-report measures related to ACEs, discrimination, and mental health symptomatology (i.
Objective: The traditional Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is a widely used standardized stress induction protocol and has recently been adapted in a variety of virtual reality environments (V-TSST). Research has demonstrated the ability of the V-TSST to induce a stress reactivity response measured via cortisol, heart rate, and self-report. However, research comparing stress reactivity induced via the V-TSST to the traditional TSST across neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and self-report variables has not yet been systematically and quantitatively reviewed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Child Adolesc Ment Health
June 2020
Youth often experience stressors leading to negative long-term outcomes. Enhancing social-emotional attributes is important to foster resiliency to face these challenges. Yoga may enhance social-emotional resiliency among youth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychoneuroendocrinology
December 2019
Background: Maladaptive responses to stressors can lead to poor physical and psychological health outcomes. Laboratory studies of stress induction commonly use the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). The TSST has been shown to reliably induce a stress response, most commonly measured via cortisol reactivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis research explored the effectiveness of a manualized contemplative intervention among children receiving intensive residential psychiatric care. Ten children with severe psychiatric disabilities received 12 sessions (30-45 min) of "Mindful Life: Schools" (MLS) over the course of a month. Facility-reported data on the use of physical intervention (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of the present study was to directly compare the acute effects of participating in a single yoga class versus a single standard physical education (PE) class on student mood. Forty-seven high school students completed self-report questionnaires assessing mood and affect immediately before and after participating in a single yoga class and a single PE class one week later. Data were analyzed using paired-samples t tests and Wilcoxon-signed ranks tests and by comparing effect sizes between the two conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This article describes results from a randomized clinical trial of a mindfulness-based intervention for parents and children, Mindful Family Stress Reduction, on a behavioral measure of attention in youths, the Attention Network Task (ANT).
Method: Forty-one parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to either the mindfulness-based intervention condition or a wait-list control. School-age youths completed the ANT before and after the intervention.