<p>Abstract: Objective: Innovative approaches to the treatment of war‐related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are needed. We report on secondary psychological outcomes of a randomized controlled trial of integrative exercise (IE) using aerobic and resistance exercise with mindfulness‐based principles and yoga. We expected—in parallel to observed improvements in PTSD intensity and quality of life—improvements in mindfulness, interoceptive bodily awareness, and positive states of mind. Method: A total of 47 war veterans with PTSD were randomized to 12‐week IE versus waitlist. Changes in mindfulness, interoceptive awareness, and states of mind were assessed by self‐report standard measures. Results: Large effect sizes for the intervention were observed on Five‐Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire Non‐Reactivity (d = .85), Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness Body Listening (d = .80), and Self‐Regulation (d = 1.05). Conclusion: In a randomized controlled trial of a 12‐week IE program for war veterans with PTSD, we saw significant improvements in mindfulness, interoceptive bodily awareness, and positive states of mind compared to a waitlist.</p>
Purpose
Evaluate impact of breathing awareness meditation (BAM), Botvin LifeSkills® Training (LST), and health education control (HEC) on ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and sodium excretion in African American (AA) adolescents.
Methods
Following three consecutive days of systolic blood pressure (SBP) screenings, 166 eligible participants (i.e., SBP > 50th – 95th percentile) were randomized by school to either BAM (n = 53), LST (n= 69), or HEC (n=44). In-school intervention sessions were administered for three months by health education teachers. Before and after the intervention overnight urine samples and 24-hour ambulatory SBP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) were obtained.
Results
Significant group differences were found for changes in overnight SBP and SBP, DBP and HR over the 24-hour period and during school hours. The BAM treatment exhibited the greatest overall decreases on these measures (Bonferroni adjusted, ps <.05). For example, for school-time SBP, BAM showed a change of −3.7 mmHg compared to no change for LST and a change of −0.1 mmHg for HEC. There was a non-significant trend for overnight urinary sodium excretion (p = .07) with the BAM group displaying a reduction of −.92 ± 1.1 mEq/hr compared to increases of .89 ± 1.2 mEq/hr for LST, and .58±0.9 mEq/hr for HEC group.
Conclusion
BAM appears to improve hemodynamic function and may impact sodium handling among AA adolescents at increased risk for development of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
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It is widely believed that children's social-emotional growth and academic learning are inextricably connected. Pressured by high-stakes assessments, however, school professionals find it difficult to devote adequate time to children's social/behavioral development. As a response, we developed and piloted Social-Emotional Learning Foundations (SELF), a curriculum for students at risk for emotional or behavioral problems that merges instruction in social-emotional learning with early literacy skills. Designed for small-group instruction, the SELF curriculum provides teachers multiple opportunities to extend language and promote emotional and behavioral self-regulation while teaching early literacy skills that include vocabulary development and comprehension. This preliminary study was used to explore intervention feasibility, pilot implementation, and measurement protocols and to provide some evidence in support of further study. Findings from the pilot implementation in eight kindergarten classrooms indicated that SELF lessons improved teacher-reported executive function, internalizing behavior, and school-related competence. As a preface to a more rigorously designed efficacy study, the pilot study results provide preliminary evidence that integrating social-emotional learning and literacy instruction may be a viable strategy for promoting self-regulation in the service of positive social and academic outcomes for children at risk.
OBJECTIVES: Because the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasing among veterans, understanding more about the characteristics of veterans who use CAM is increasingly important. Studies reporting on predictors of use almost always discuss CAM in the aggregate, yet each CAM modality represents a unique approach to healthcare, and each may have different correlates as well as different effectiveness. Very little information is available about veterans' use of each distinct modality, and about psychosocial correlates of various forms of CAM use. DESIGN: We analyzed data from wave 1 of the Survey of the Experiences of Returning Veterans (SERV) Study, which included 729 veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation New Dawn (OND). SETTING: Data were collected by telephone interviews. MAIN MEASURES: We examined a range of potentially important correlates of CAM use, including demographics, military experiences, and current mental and physical health. RESULTS: Each predictor related to a unique constellation of CAM modalities; not one of the predictors examined was associated with more than half of the 12 modalities. For example, women were more likely to use acupuncture, massage, yoga, meditation and spiritual healing, and age related only to greater use of homeopathy, while deployment injuries related positively to use of chiropractic, nutrition and meditation. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that in order to understand CAM use, CAM modalities should be considered unique and separate practices. This greater understanding should be useful for future health service provision for veterans.
OBJECTIVES: Because the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasing among veterans, understanding more about the characteristics of veterans who use CAM is increasingly important. Studies reporting on predictors of use almost always discuss CAM in the aggregate, yet each CAM modality represents a unique approach to healthcare, and each may have different correlates as well as different effectiveness. Very little information is available about veterans' use of each distinct modality, and about psychosocial correlates of various forms of CAM use. DESIGN: We analyzed data from wave 1 of the Survey of the Experiences of Returning Veterans (SERV) Study, which included 729 veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation New Dawn (OND). SETTING: Data were collected by telephone interviews. MAIN MEASURES: We examined a range of potentially important correlates of CAM use, including demographics, military experiences, and current mental and physical health. RESULTS: Each predictor related to a unique constellation of CAM modalities; not one of the predictors examined was associated with more than half of the 12 modalities. For example, women were more likely to use acupuncture, massage, yoga, meditation and spiritual healing, and age related only to greater use of homeopathy, while deployment injuries related positively to use of chiropractic, nutrition and meditation. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that in order to understand CAM use, CAM modalities should be considered unique and separate practices. This greater understanding should be useful for future health service provision for veterans.
Objective: To provide a descriptive overview of the clinical trials assessing meditation practices for health care.Design: Systematic review of the literature. Comprehensive searches were conducted in 17 electronic bibliographic databases through September 2005. Other sources of potentially relevant studies included hand searches, reference tracking, contacting experts, and gray literature searches. Included studies were clinical trials with 10 or more adult participants using any meditation practice, providing quantitative data on health-related outcomes, and published in English. Two independent reviewers assessed study relevance, extracted the data, and assessed the methodological quality of the studies.Results: Four hundred clinical trials on meditation (72% described as randomized) were included in the review (publication years 1956–2005). Five broad categories of meditation practices were identified: mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation, yoga, t'ai chi, and qigong. The three most studied clinical conditions were hypertension, miscellaneous cardiovascular diseases, and substance abuse. Psychosocial measures were the most frequently reported outcomes. Outcome measures of psychiatric and psychological symptoms dominate the outcomes of interest. Overall, the methodological quality of clinical trials is poor, but has significantly improved over time by 0.014 points every year (95% CI, 0.005, 0.023).Conclusions: Most clinical trials on meditation practices are generally characterized by poor methodological quality with significant threats to validity in every major quality domain assessed. Despite a statistically significant improvement in the methodological quality over time, it is imperative that future trials on meditation be rigorous in design, execution, analysis, and the reporting of results.
Stress-activated gene × environment interactions may contribute to individual variability in blood pressure reductions from behavioral interventions. We investigated effects of endothelin-1 (ET-1) LYS198ASN SNP and discriminatory stress exposure upon impact of 12-week behavioral interventions upon ambulatory BP (ABP) among 162 prehypertensive African American adolescents. Following genotyping, completion of questionnaire battery, and 24-hour ABP monitoring, participants were randomized to health education control (HEC), life skills training (LST), or breathing awareness meditation (BAM). Postintervention ABP was obtained. Significant three-way interactions on ABP changes indicated that among ET-1 SNP carriers, the only group to show reductions was BAM from low chronic stress environments. Among ET-1 SNP noncarriers, under low chronic stress exposure, all approaches worked, especially BAM. Among high stress exposure noncarriers, only BAM resulted in reductions. If these preliminary findings are replicated via ancillary analyses of archival databases and then via efficacy trials, selection of behavioral prescriptions for prehypertensives will be edging closer to being guided by individual's underlying genetic and environmental factors incorporating the healthcare model of personalized preventive medicine.
BackgroundWhile mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) employ two distinct practices, focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM), the integrated delivery of these practices in MBIs precludes understanding of their practice-specific effects or mechanisms of action. The purpose of this study is to isolate hypothesized active ingredients and practice-specific mechanistic target engagement by creating structurally equivalent interventions that differ only by the active ingredient (meditation practice) offered and to test whether the hypothesized components differentially engage the mechanistic targets that they are purported to engage.
Methods
Participants were intended to be representative of American meditators and had mild to severe affective disturbances. Measures of structural equivalence included participant-level (sample characteristics), treatment-level (program structure and duration, program materials, class size, attendance, homework compliance, etc.), and instructor-level variables (training, ratings and adherence/fidelity). Measures of differential validity included analysis of program materials and verification of differential mechanistic target engagement (cognitive and affective skills and beliefs about meditation acquired by participants after the 8-week training).
Results
The results indicate successful creation of structurally equivalent FA and OM programs that were matched on participant-level, treatment-level, and instructor-level variables. The interventions also differed as expected with respect to program materials as well as mechanistic targets engaged (skills and beliefs acquired).
Conclusions
These validated 8-week FA and OM training programs can be applied in future research to assess practice-specific effects of meditation.
Effective altruism is a growing social movement founded on the desire to make the world as good a place as it can be, the use of evidence and reason to find out how to do so, and the audacity to actually try. This video explains some of the core ideas of effective altruism and discusses some of the ways we can fix the world's biggest problems.
<p>Religions provide various forms of motivation for moral action. This chapter takes Buddhism as an example from within the Indian 'family' of religions and seeks to identify the doctrinal and cultural principles on which ethical decisions are taken. Although beginning from very different religious premises, it is argued that the conclusions to which Buddhism tends are broadly similar to those found within mainstream Christianity.</p>
<p>Religions provide various forms of motivation for moral action. This chapter takes Buddhism as an example from within the Indian 'family' of religions and seeks to identify the doctrinal and cultural principles on which ethical decisions are taken. Although beginning from very different religious premises, it is argued that the conclusions to which Buddhism tends are broadly similar to those found within mainstream Christianity.</p>
Over the past 30 years, mental health practitioners, encouraged by rigorous empirical studies and literature and meta-analytic reviews, have increasingly appreciated the ability of hypnosis to modulate attention, imagination, and motivation in the service of therapeutic goals. This article describes how hypnosis can be used as an adjunctive procedure in the treatment of depression and rumination symptoms, in particular. The focus is on attention-based treatments that include rumination-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive control training, and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. The authors provide numerous examples of techniques and approaches that can potentially enhance treatment gains, including a hypnotic induction to facilitate mindfulness and to motivate mindfulness practice. Although hypnosis appears to be a promising catalyst of attention and mindfulness, research is required to document the incremental value of adding hypnosis to the treatments reviewed.
This study examined the impact of breathing awareness meditation (BAM), life skills (LS) training, and health education (HE) interventions on self-reported hostility and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in 121 African American (AA) ninth graders at increased risk for development of essential hypertension. They were randomly assigned to BAM, LS, or HE and engaged in intervention sessions during health class for 3 months. Before, after, and 3 months following intervention cessation, self-reported hostility and 24-hour ABP were measured. Results indicated that between pre- and postintervention, BAM participants displayed significant reductions in self-reported hostility and 24-hour systolic ABP. Reductions in hostility were significantly related to reductions in 24-hour systolic ABP. Between postintervention and follow-up, participants receiving LS showed a significant reduction in hostility but not in 24-hour ABP. Significant changes were not found for the HE group in 24-hour ABP or self-reported hostility, but these change scores were significantly correlated. The implications of the findings are discussed with regard to behavioral stress reduction programs for the physical and emotional health of AAs.
This study examined the impact of breathing awareness meditation (BAM), life skills (LS) training, and health education (HE) interventions on self-reported hostility and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in 121 African American (AA) ninth graders at increased risk for development of essential hypertension. They were randomly assigned to BAM, LS, or HE and engaged in intervention sessions during health class for 3 months. Before, after, and 3 months following intervention cessation, self-reported hostility and 24-hour ABP were measured. Results indicated that between pre- and postintervention, BAM participants displayed significant reductions in self-reported hostility and 24-hour systolic ABP. Reductions in hostility were significantly related to reductions in 24-hour systolic ABP. Between postintervention and follow-up, participants receiving LS showed a significant reduction in hostility but not in 24-hour ABP. Significant changes were not found for the HE group in 24-hour ABP or self-reported hostility, but these change scores were significantly correlated. The implications of the findings are discussed with regard to behavioral stress reduction programs for the physical and emotional health of AAs.
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of stress reduction via the Transcendental Meditation program on school rule infractions in adolescents.
PMID: 12740037
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BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to determine the effect of stress reduction via the Transcendental Meditation program on school rule infractions in adolescents. Methods
Forty-five African American adolescents (ages 15 18 years) with high normal systolic blood pressure were randomly assigned to either Transcendental Meditation (n = 25) or health education control (n = 20) groups. The meditation group engaged in 15-min sessions at home and at school each day for 4 months. The control group was presented 15-min sessions of health education at school each day for 4 months. Primary outcome measures were changes in absenteeism, school rule infractions and suspension days during the four-month pretest period prior to randomization compared with the four-month intervention period. Results
Comparing the pretest and intervention periods, the meditation group exhibited a mean decrease of 6.4 absentee periods compared to an increase of 4.8 in the control group (p < .05). The meditation group exhibited a mean decrease of 0.1 infractions over the four months compared to an increase of 0.3 in the control group (p < .03). There was a mean reduction of 0.3 suspension days due to behavior-related problems in the meditation group compared to an increase of 1.2 in the control group (p < .04). Conclusion
These findings demonstrate that the Transcendental Meditation program conducted in the school setting has a beneficial impact upon absenteeism, rule infractions, and suspension rates in African American adolescents.
BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to determine the effect of stress reduction via the Transcendental Meditation program on school rule infractions in adolescents.
Methods
Forty-five African American adolescents (ages 15–18 years) with high normal systolic blood pressure were randomly assigned to either Transcendental Meditation (n = 25) or health education control (n = 20) groups. The meditation group engaged in 15-min sessions at home and at school each day for 4 months. The control group was presented 15-min sessions of health education at school each day for 4 months. Primary outcome measures were changes in absenteeism, school rule infractions and suspension days during the four-month pretest period prior to randomization compared with the four-month intervention period.
Results
Comparing the pretest and intervention periods, the meditation group exhibited a mean decrease of 6.4 absentee periods compared to an increase of 4.8 in the control group (p < .05). The meditation group exhibited a mean decrease of 0.1 infractions over the four months compared to an increase of 0.3 in the control group (p < .03). There was a mean reduction of 0.3 suspension days due to behavior-related problems in the meditation group compared to an increase of 1.2 in the control group (p < .04).
Conclusion
These findings demonstrate that the Transcendental Meditation program conducted in the school setting has a beneficial impact upon absenteeism, rule infractions, and suspension rates in African American adolescents.
BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to determine the effect of stress reduction via the Transcendental Meditation program on school rule infractions in adolescents. Methods
Forty-five African American adolescents (ages 15–18 years) with high normal systolic blood pressure were randomly assigned to either Transcendental Meditation (n = 25) or health education control (n = 20) groups. The meditation group engaged in 15-min sessions at home and at school each day for 4 months. The control group was presented 15-min sessions of health education at school each day for 4 months. Primary outcome measures were changes in absenteeism, school rule infractions and suspension days during the four-month pretest period prior to randomization compared with the four-month intervention period. Results
Comparing the pretest and intervention periods, the meditation group exhibited a mean decrease of 6.4 absentee periods compared to an increase of 4.8 in the control group (p < .05). The meditation group exhibited a mean decrease of 0.1 infractions over the four months compared to an increase of 0.3 in the control group (p < .03). There was a mean reduction of 0.3 suspension days due to behavior-related problems in the meditation group compared to an increase of 1.2 in the control group (p < .04). Conclusion
These findings demonstrate that the Transcendental Meditation program conducted in the school setting has a beneficial impact upon absenteeism, rule infractions, and suspension rates in African American adolescents.
Highlights * Few studies utilized culturally responsive social-emotional learning interventions. * Studies rarely addressed the effects of discrimination on socio-emotional development. * Most studies did not include follow-up data, treatment validity, or social validity. * The majority of studies examined internalizing and externalizing behaviors.
We examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in a sample of 810 undergraduate students. Using common exploratory factor analysis (EFA), we obtained evidence for a 1-factor solution (41.84% common variance). To confirm unidimensionality of the 15-item MAAS, we conducted a 1-factor confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results of the EFA and CFA, respectively, provided support for a unidimensional model. Using differential item functioning analysis methods within item response theory modeling (IRT-based DIF), we found that individuals with high and low levels of nonattachment responded similarly to the MAAS items. Following a detailed item analysis, we proposed a 5-item short version of the instrument and present descriptive statistics and composite score reliability for the short and full versions of the MAAS. Finally, correlation analyses showed that scores on the full and short versions of the MAAS were associated with measures assessing related constructs. The 5-item MAAS is as useful as the original MAAS in enhancing our understanding of the mindfulness construct.
This study examined the relationship between mindfulness and emotion regulation in nursing students as well as the potential mediator role of working memory capacity in this relationship. The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and an Automated Operation Span Task (AOSPAN) were administered to 80 undergraduate pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing students. Pearson correlation, structural equation path modeling, and one-way ANOVA tests were conducted. MAAS scores were significantly correlated with ERQ-Reappraisal scores (r = 0.19, p = 0.045) and AOSPAN scores (r = 0.30, p = 0.004). A structural equation path model indicated that there was a direct effect of dispositional mindfulness on emotion regulation (γ11 = 0.29, p = 0.034) and working memory capacity (γ21 = 4.98, p = 0.004). However, working memory capacity did not directly mediate the effect of mindfulness on emotion regulation (b weight = −0.03, p = 0.236). Also, MAAS scores were significantly different (p < 0.05) between the student cohort levels, with the first semester students having the highest MAAS scores and the fourth semester students have the lowest MAAS scores. These findings suggest that mindfulness may influence prospective nursing professionals’ working memory capacity and ability to regulate emotions. However, working memory capacity did not explain how mindfulness influenced the use of reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy. Nurse educators should consider other potential mechanisms of how mindfulness influences emotion regulation in nursing students. Furthermore, educators should consider that potential differences in mindfulness exist between nursing students when they implement mindfulness-based interventions.
We assessed college students' mindfulness skills (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire; Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006) and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) early in the semester and during midterms and finals, two periods of likely academic stress. As predicted, acting with awareness, nonreactivity, and nonjudging were inversely related to depressive symptoms over the course of the semester. In contrast, observing was directly related to depressive symptoms at time one and two. The mindfulness skill of describing failed to show any significant relation to depressive symptoms during the semester. When we considered all four mindfulness skills simultaneously, nonreactivity and nonjudging skills underpinned the inverse relation between mindfulness and depressive symptoms across all time periods. High levels of observing were only associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms when individuals were low in nonreactivity. Accordingly, mindfulness skills may mitigate depressive symptoms because they promote objectively and nonreactively, thereby counteracting rumination.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine educators' beliefs, perceptions and use of culturally responsive practices in implementing a social-emotional learning (SEL) intervention. Design/methodology/approach: Focus groups with school personnel in a school with a diverse student population that had sustained success with an SEL intervention were conducted. Grounded theory was used to analyze data. Findings: The analyses produced 11 interrelated themes. Practical implications: School personnel noted that instruction in culturally responsive practices was foundational and should occur before SEL intervention implementation commences to ensure the use of culturally responsive practices as part of SEL implementation. Moreover, they noted the importance of school community buy-in (administrator, faculty, staff, parent and student) in supporting school-based SEL intervention sustainability. Social implications: Within the USA, continued diversification of the student population is predicted, while the teaching force is projected to remain primarily White, middle class and female. Consequently, educators often differ in cultural background from their students, which has implications for SEL instruction. Incorporating the use of culturally responsive pedagogy in teaching SEL skills is one approach to addressing this cultural mismatch. Originality/value: There are currently few studies that explore educator perceptions of SEL and no studies that examine the use of culturally responsive pedagogy in teaching SEL.
There's a strong case for making social and emotional learning (SEL) skills and competencies a central feature of elementary school. Children who master SEL skills get along better with others, do better in school, and have more successful careers and better mental and physical health as adults. Evidence from the most rigorous studies of elementary-school SEL programs however is ambiguous. Some studies find few or no effects, while others find important and meaningful effects. Or studies find effects for some groups of students but not for others. What causes such variation isn't clear, making it hard to interpret and act on the evidence. What are the sources of variation in the impacts of SEL programs designed for the elementary years? To find out, Stephanie Jones, Sophie Barnes, Rebecca Bailey, and Emily Doolittle examine how the theories of change behind 11 widely used school-based SEL interventions align with the way those interventions measure outcomes. Their central conclusion is that what appears to be variation in impacts may instead stem from imprecise program targets misaligned with too-general measures of outcomes. That is to say, program evaluations often fail to measure whether students have mastered the precise skills the programs seek to impart. The authors make three recommendations for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers. The first is that we should focus more on outcomes at the teacher and classroom level, because teachers' own social-emotional competency and the quality of the classroom environment can have a huge effect on students' SEL. Second, because the elementary years span a great many developmental and environmental transitions, SEL programs should take care to focus on the skills appropriate to each grade and age, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach. Third, they write, measurement of SEL skills among children in this age range should grow narrower in focus but broader in context and depth.
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