<p>This study evaluated mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), a group intervention designed to train recovered recurrently depressed patients to disengage from dysphoria-activated depressogenic thinking that may mediate relapse/recurrence. Recovered recurrently depressed patients ( n = 145) were randomized to continue with treatment as usual or, in addition, to receive MBCT. Relapse/recurrence to major depression was assessed over a 60-week study period. For patients with 3 or more previous episodes of depression (77% of the sample), MBCT significantly reduced risk of relapse/recurrence. For patients with only 2 previous episodes, MBCT did not reduce relapse/recurrence. MBCT offers a promising cost-efficient psychological approach to preventing relapse/recurrence in recovered recurrently depressed patients.</p>
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Universities are increasingly offering positive psychology courses; however, very few studies have been conducted to see if they enhance positive psychology outcomes for students. This study, conducted at a Western university in the U.S., examined the effects of a semester long positive psychology course on 26 undergraduate students’ gratitude and emotions toward studying. The course included broad aspects of positive psychology, such as gratitude, mindfulness, autonomy supportive communication, intrinsic life goals, intrinsic learning goals, acts of kindness, and identifying strengths. Using a retrospective pretest-posttest design, paired sample t tests revealed that students improved significantly on both gratitude and homework feelings. The effect size (Cohen’s d) for homework feelings was 1.03, indicating that students experienced a strong improvement in positive emotions toward studying and homework. The effect size for gratitude was .76, indicating a moderate to large positive effect on thankfulness. Percentage of classes attended was moderately positively associated with pre- to post-course improvement in gratitude and emotions, indicating that students with higher attendance were more likely to experience greater personal growth. Students of minority background (e.g., Latino) improved more than European American students on gratitude, whereas they improved equally well on positive emotions. Implications for universities, professors, and others interested in the positive psychological development of young adults are discussed.
Current research on prosocial behavior covers a broad and diverse range of phenomena. We argue that this large research literature can be best organized and understood from a multilevel perspective. We identify three levels of analysis of prosocial behavior: (a) the ?meso? level?the study of helper-recipient dyads in the context of a specific situation; (b) the micro level?the study of the origins of prosocial tendencies and the sources of variation in these tendencies; and (c) the macro level?the study of prosocial actions that occur within the context of groups and large organizations. We present research at each level and discuss similarities and differences across levels. Finally, we consider ways in which theory and research at these three levels of analysis might be combined in future intra- and interdisciplinary research on prosocial behavior.
The target of this outline is psychological research which specifically examines theeffects of contact with nature. This is only one aspect of the work of the School of Lost
Borders, but direct contact with the wild natural world is a core of our approach.
The major goal of this study was to explore the relationship among psychological mindedness (PM) and several facets of awareness, including a general sense of mindfulness (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale; Brown & Ryan, 2003), as well as more specific awareness of self (self-consciousness scale; Fenigstein, Scheier, & Buss, 1975) and others (Interpersonal Reactivity Index; Davis, 1980). Participants were 103 undergraduate students at an urban liberal arts college. Results indicated that PM (PM Scale; Conte, Plutchik, Jung, Picard, Karasu, & Lotterman, 1990) is related to mindfulness (r = .41, p < .01), private self-consciousness (r = .27, p < .05), as well as cognitive (r = .30, p < .01) and affective (r = .35, p < .01) indices of empathy. Self-consciousness and empathy explained a significant amount of variance in PM in a simultaneous-entry multiple regression. These findings support theoretical claims that PM involves awareness of self and others. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol. 61: 739–750, 2005
This qualitative study explores the effects of qigong, an ancient Chinese mindfulness practice involving movement, on master's-level counseling students. Students responded in writing both after an initial experience of qigong and after practicing the movements for 15 weeks during a mindfulness-based course in self-care. Themes of physical, emotional, and mental changes were present in both sets of responses. Additional themes of familiarity with the practice as well as group consciousness and interdependence emerged in the final experience of qigong. The results of this study indicate qigong is a contemplative practice that could have positive outcomes for counseling students. Because of its accessible nature, immediate results, and ability to foster connectedness, qigong is currently underutilized as a form of teaching mindfulness.
Amyloid-beta peptide is central to the pathology of Alzheimer's disease, because it is neurotoxic—directly by inducing oxidant stress, and indirectly by activating microglia. A specific cell-surface acceptor site that could focus its effects on target cells has been postulated but not identified. Here we present evidence that the 'receptor for advanced glycation end products' (RAGE) is such a receptor, and that it mediates effects of the peptide on neurons and microglia. Increased expression of RAGE in Alzheimer's disease brain indicates that it is relevant to the pathogenesis of neuronal dysfunction and death.
OBJECTIVE: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most common, persistent, and disabling symptoms associated with cancer and its treatment. Evidence-based treatments that are acceptable to patients are critically needed. This study examined the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for CRF and related symptoms. METHOD: A sample of 35 cancer survivors with clinically significant CRF was randomly assigned to a 7-week MBSR-based intervention or wait-list control group. The intervention group received training in mindfulness meditation, yoga, and self-regulatory responses to stress. Fatigue interference (primary outcome) and a variety of secondary outcomes (e.g., fatigue severity, vitality, disability, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbance) were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. Bonferroni correction was employed to account for multiple comparisons. Controls received the intervention after the 1-month follow-up. Participants in both groups were followed for 6 months after completing their respective MBSR courses to assess maintenance of effects. RESULTS: Compared to controls, the MBSR group reported large post-intervention reductions as assessed by effect sizes (d) in the primary outcome, fatigue interference (d = -1.43, p < 0.001), along with fatigue severity (d = -1.55, p < 0.001), vitality (d = 1.29, p < 0.001), depression (d = -1.30, p < 0.001), and sleep disturbance (d = -0.74, p = 0.001). Results were maintained or strengthened at 1-month follow-up, the point at which significant improvements in disability (d = -1.22, p < 0.002) and anxiety (d = -0.98, p = 0.002) occurred. Improvements in all outcomes were maintained 6 months after completing the course. MBSR adherence was high, with 90% attendance across groups and high rates of participant-reported home practice of mindfulness. CONCLUSIONS: Mindfulness-based stress reduction is a promising treatment for CRF and associated symptoms.
OBJECTIVE: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most common, persistent, and disabling symptoms associated with cancer and its treatment. Evidence-based treatments that are acceptable to patients are critically needed. This study examined the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for CRF and related symptoms. METHOD: A sample of 35 cancer survivors with clinically significant CRF was randomly assigned to a 7-week MBSR-based intervention or wait-list control group. The intervention group received training in mindfulness meditation, yoga, and self-regulatory responses to stress. Fatigue interference (primary outcome) and a variety of secondary outcomes (e.g., fatigue severity, vitality, disability, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbance) were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. Bonferroni correction was employed to account for multiple comparisons. Controls received the intervention after the 1-month follow-up. Participants in both groups were followed for 6 months after completing their respective MBSR courses to assess maintenance of effects. RESULTS: Compared to controls, the MBSR group reported large post-intervention reductions as assessed by effect sizes (d) in the primary outcome, fatigue interference (d = -1.43, p < 0.001), along with fatigue severity (d = -1.55, p < 0.001), vitality (d = 1.29, p < 0.001), depression (d = -1.30, p < 0.001), and sleep disturbance (d = -0.74, p = 0.001). Results were maintained or strengthened at 1-month follow-up, the point at which significant improvements in disability (d = -1.22, p < 0.002) and anxiety (d = -0.98, p = 0.002) occurred. Improvements in all outcomes were maintained 6 months after completing the course. MBSR adherence was high, with 90% attendance across groups and high rates of participant-reported home practice of mindfulness. CONCLUSIONS: Mindfulness-based stress reduction is a promising treatment for CRF and associated symptoms.
Background The mind's ability to think about the mind has attracted substantial research interest in cognitive science in recent decades, as ‘theory of mind’. No research has attempted to identify the brain basis of this ability, probably because it involves several separate processes. As a first step, we investigated one component process – the ability to recognise mental state terms.
Method
In Experiment 1, we tested a group of children with autism (known to have theory of mind deficits) and a control group of children with mental handicap, for their ability to recognise mental state terms in a word list. This was to test if the mental state recognition task was related to traditional theory of mind tests. In Experiment 2, we investigated if in the normal brain, recognition of mental state terms might be localised. The procedure employed single photon emission computerised tomography (SPECT) in normal adult volunteers. We tested the prediction (based on available neurological and animal lesion studies) that there would be increased activation in the orbito-frontal cortex during this task, relative to a control condition, and relative to an adjacent frontal area (frontal-polar cortex).
Results
In Experiment 1, the group with autism performed significantly worse than the group without autism. In Experiment 2, there was increased cerebral blood flow during the mental state recognition task in the right orbito-frontal cortex relative to the left frontal-polar region.
Conclusions
This simple mental state recognition task appears to relate to theory of mind, in that both are impaired in autism. The SPECT results implicate the orbito-frontal cortex as the basis of this ability.
There is growing recognition that humans are faced with a critical and narrowing window of opportunity to halt or reverse some of the key indicators involved in the environmental crisis. Given human activities’ scale and impact, as well as the overly narrow perspectives of environmental research's dominant natural sciences, a major effort is necessary to place the perspectives and insights of the humanities’ and social sciences’ perspectives and insights at the forefront. Such effort will require developing integrated approaches, projects, and institutions that truly do so. This article's goal is to help mobilize the social sciences and the humanities on the topic of sustainability transitions, but also call for a meaningful research agenda to acknowledge the profound implications of the advent of the Anthropocene epoch. We formulate the need for an innovative research agenda based on a careful consideration of the changing human condition as linked to global environmental change. The humanities and social sciences will need to change and adapt to this pressing, historic task.
This article describes a feminist-informed reflective teaching project enacted by a group of social work faculty at Texas State University-San Marcos. Utilizing Schon's notion of reflection-in-action, faculty formed a participatory action research group to implement reflective techniques to further their professional development as new teachers and better prepare social work students for practice in the social work profession. This project guided the participants in establishing academic identity through the creation of a supportive academic setting and peer collegiality. The group met monthly to share reflective teaching journals (RTJs), participate in intergroup dialogue, and engage in contemplative practices, such as meditation and visualization. Methods of data collection and analysis included content analysis of the intergroup dialogue sessions. Findings from the project reinforced Kolb's experiential learning cycle, in which new insights gained from reflection were integrated back into the classroom. This article presents these important insights and suggests replication of this project to promote reflective teaching in social work education and to help prepare new social work faculty for success in academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Social Work Education is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PurposeThis study aims to examine if mindfulness is associated with pain catastrophizing, depression, disability, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cancer survivors with chronic neuropathic pain (CNP).
Method
We conducted a cross-sectional survey with cancer survivors experiencing CNP. Participants (n = 76) were men (24 %) and women (76 %) with an average age of 56.5 years (SD = 9.4). Participants were at least 1 year post-treatment, with no evidence of cancer, and with symptoms of neuropathic pain for more than three months. Participants completed the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), along with measures of pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, pain interference, depression, and HRQOL.
Results
Mindfulness was negatively correlated with pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, pain interference, and depression, and it was positively correlated with mental health-related HRQOL. Regression analyses demonstrated that mindfulness was a negative predictor of pain intensity and depression and a positive predictor of mental HRQOL after controlling for pain catastrophizing, age, and gender. The two mindfulness facets that were most consistently associated with better outcomes were non-judging and acting with awareness. Mindfulness significantly moderated the relationships between pain intensity and pain catastrophizing and between pain intensity and pain interference.
Conclusion
It appears that mindfulness mitigates the impact of pain experiences in cancer survivors experiencing CNP post-treatment.
Research suggests that contact with nature can be beneficial, for example leading to improvements in mood, cognition, and health. A distinct but related idea is the personality construct of subjective nature connectedness, a stable individual difference in cognitive, affective, and experiential connection with the natural environment. Subjective nature connectedness is a strong predictor of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours that may also be positively associated with subjective well-being. This meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between nature connectedness and happiness. Based on 30 samples (n = 8,523), a fixed-effect meta-analysis found a small but significant effect size (r = .19). Those who are more connected to nature tended to experience more positive affect, vitality, and life satisfaction compared to those less connected to nature. Publication status, year, average age, and percentage of females in the sample were not significant moderators. Vitality had the strongest relationship with nature connectedness (r = .24), followed by positive affect (r = .22) and life satisfaction (r = .17). In terms of specific nature connectedness measures, associations were the strongest between happiness and inclusion of nature in self (r = .27), compared to nature relatedness (r = .18) and connectedness to nature (r = .18). This research highlights the importance of considering personality when examining the psychological benefits of nature. The results suggest that closer human-nature relationships do not have to come at the expense of happiness. Rather, this meta-analysis shows that being connected to nature and feeling happy are, in fact, connected.
<p>OBJECTIVES: The study objectives were to develop and objectively assess the therapeutic effect of a novel movement-based complementary and alternative medicine approach for children with an autism-spectrum disorder (ASD). DESIGN: A within-subject analysis comparing pre- to post-treatment scores on two standard measures of childhood behavioral problems was used. SETTINGS AND LOCATION: The intervention and data analysis occurred at a tertiary care, medical school teaching hospital. SUBJECTS: Twenty-four (24) children aged 3-16 years with a diagnosis of an ASD comprised the study group. INTERVENTION: The efficacy of an 8-week multimodal yoga, dance, and music therapy program based on the relaxation response (RR) was developed and examined. OUTCOME MEASURES: The study outcome was measured using The Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) and the Aberrant Behavioral Checklist (ABC). RESULTS: Robust changes were found on the BASC-2, primarily for 5-12-year-old children. Unexpectedly, the post-treatment scores on the Atypicality scale of the BASC-2, which measures some of the core features of autism, changed significantly (p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: A movement-based, modified RR program, involving yoga and dance, showed efficacy in treating behavioral and some core features of autism, particularly for latency-age children.</p>
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OBJECTIVES: The study objectives were to develop and objectively assess the therapeutic effect of a novel movement-based complementary and alternative medicine approach for children with an autism-spectrum disorder (ASD).DESIGN: A within-subject analysis comparing pre- to post-treatment scores on two standard measures of childhood behavioral problems was used.
SETTINGS AND LOCATION: The intervention and data analysis occurred at a tertiary care, medical school teaching hospital.
SUBJECTS: Twenty-four (24) children aged 3-16 years with a diagnosis of an ASD comprised the study group.
INTERVENTION: The efficacy of an 8-week multimodal yoga, dance, and music therapy program based on the relaxation response (RR) was developed and examined.
OUTCOME MEASURES: The study outcome was measured using The Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) and the Aberrant Behavioral Checklist (ABC).
RESULTS: Robust changes were found on the BASC-2, primarily for 5-12-year-old children. Unexpectedly, the post-treatment scores on the Atypicality scale of the BASC-2, which measures some of the core features of autism, changed significantly (p=0.003).
CONCLUSIONS: A movement-based, modified RR program, involving yoga and dance, showed efficacy in treating behavioral and some core features of autism, particularly for latency-age children.
<p>The relaxation response (RR) is the counterpart of the stress response. Millennia-old practices evoking the RR include meditation, yoga and repetitive prayer. Although RR elicitation is an effective therapeutic intervention that counteracts the adverse clinical effects of stress in disorders including hypertension, anxiety, insomnia and aging, the underlying molecular mechanisms that explain these clinical benefits remain undetermined. To assess rapid time-dependent (temporal) genomic changes during one session of RR practice among healthy practitioners with years of RR practice and also in novices before and after 8 weeks of RR training, we measured the transcriptome in peripheral blood prior to, immediately after, and 15 minutes after listening to an RR-eliciting or a health education CD. Both short-term and long-term practitioners evoked significant temporal gene expression changes with greater significance in the latter as compared to novices. RR practice enhanced expression of genes associated with energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, insulin secretion and telomere maintenance, and reduced expression of genes linked to inflammatory response and stress-related pathways. Interactive network analyses of RR-affected pathways identified mitochondrial ATP synthase and insulin (INS) as top upregulated critical molecules (focus hubs) and NF-κB pathway genes as top downregulated focus hubs. Our results for the first time indicate that RR elicitation, particularly after long-term practice, may evoke its downstream health benefits by improving mitochondrial energy production and utilization and thus promoting mitochondrial resiliency through upregulation of ATPase and insulin function. Mitochondrial resiliency might also be promoted by RR-induced downregulation of NF-κB-associated upstream and downstream targets that mitigates stress.</p>
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