Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to effectively alleviate psychological suffering. The current study compares the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention with an interpersonal support group and a notreatment condition in relieving psychological distress. Participants in this study comprised 112 college students from two universities who contacted the University Counseling Center on their respective college campus to access mental health services. Clients completed written measures at 3 time points; pre- intervention, postintervention, and at 6 months. The overall findings of this study indicate greater reductions over time in the mindfulness-based intervention on measures of anxiety, depression, academic problems, and increase in mindfulness skills compared to the interpersonal support group and no-treatment condition. Conversely, among participants in the interpersonal support group, findings reveal greater reductions in interpersonal problems. Further, results document a positive association between time spent in home mindfulness practice and change in mindfulness skills, and reductions in psychological distress. Mindfulness-based programs may prove to be a time and cost-effective intervention for addressing the needs of University Counseling Centers at a time when there is a shortage of mental health services.

Growing up, I never considered myself an athlete. I did not participate in sports or compete on a track, field or slope. However, as an adult, I have chosen to step outside my comfort zone, exploring challenges that push me physically and mentally to grow as a person. In this way, I found running. Running, for me, is not a mere mundane exercise routine, nor a competitive sport by which to be judged. Instead, running at my own pace has been a physical and emotional journey that eases my mind, nourishes my body and replenishes my spirit. Like an old friend, it is always there, year round, anywhere, anytime, to get me outside, pick me up when I feel blue, keep me company while I make new discoveries and introduce me to new friends. Moreover, my body benefits as my heart gets stronger, my bones denser, my risk for disease decreases, my stress disappears and I burn a ton of calories. Above all, the skills I develop from running, including confidence, perseverance, perspective, resiliency, connection to others, setting goals, the bliss of solitude, taking notice and living in the present, transfer to all areas of my life. In fact, my experience with running has helped me not only be a better person and enjoy life more, it has given me new tools to use professionally, as an academic advisor in higher education. It is my hope that my story, and the supporting research, will inspire others to explore running as an option for physical, emotional, social and, perhaps, spiritual presence in their lives. I share my story to all educators because the inclusion of exercise and mindfulness, for professional and student, can be a source of stress reduction, balance, cognitive focus and overall health. As a result of my own experiences with these activities, I think I understand their benefits and am able to impart the necessary encouragement to students to explore their options. In my opinion, the interesting relationship between writing and running, which I discovered and touched upon in this process, warrants further exploration.

Mindfulness – a receptive attentiveness to present experience – has been shown to promote more adaptive emotion regulation (Brown, et al. 2007) and predict autonomy - motivation to behave in a self-directed manner. In turn, autonomy has been shown to predict self-regulation (Ryan & Deci, 2000). This suggests a psychological pathway from mindfulness to autonomy to emotion regulation. To better understand the regulatory potential of a mindful disposition and the possible mediating role of autonomy in healthy adult participants (N = 69), a laboratory social evaluative threat was used called the Trier Social Stress Task (Kirschbaum, et al., 1993). Results showed that mindfulness predicted lower self-reported anxiety but not lower negative affect or endocrine levels. State autonomy during the stressor fully mediated the inverse relation between mindfulness and anxiety. These results support the theory of the emotion regulatory potential of mindfulness, and suggest one means by which this quality may improve well-being.

The present study is a preliminary investigation assessing the associations between socioemotional adjustment and executive functioning problems in a low-income, high-risk sample of elementary students who participated in a mindful yoga practice. Mindfulness is a concept that encompasses attention within the present moment and requires acceptance and nonjudgment. Rather than being an outcome-reliant principle, it emphasizes the individual’s present state of mind and being (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Recently, mindfulness has become a popular phenomenon in research. It has shown to be a highly effective coping strategy and mediator for cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems (Flook, 2010; Hayes & Feldman, 2004; Broderick & Metz, 2009; Mendelson et al., 2010). However, little research has been done to assess the role mindfulness plays in children. The objective for this study was to investigate the associations between contextual stress, mindfulness, executive functioning difficulties, emotion dysregulation, and aggression. Data for these variables was reported via self-report (n=21), parent-report, and teacher-report at one time towards the end of the yoga curriculum. Mindfulness was not associated with executive functioning or emotional dysregulation. However, parent and teacher reports did reveal significant links among more aggression, executive functioning difficulties, and emotion dysregulation. Discussion notes the limitations of the current study and recommendations for improving the study design to improve the study of positive interventions for children experiencing high-stress lifestyles.

Denna studie undersökte det potentiella sambandet mellan tidsperspektiv, mindfulness och upplevd stress. Kring 60 studenter besvarade en online-enkät som inkluderade den svenska versionen av Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire och Perceived Stress Scale. Analyserna omfattade bivariata korrelationer, multipel linjär regressionsanalys och path analys. I linje med hypoteserna indikerade resultaten statistiskt signifikanta samband mellan mindfulness, ett mått på Balanserat TidsPerspektiv (BTP) och stress, samt på en indirekt påverkan av mindfulness på stressnivåer genom Future Negative tidsperspektiv, som i sin tur är kopplad med Past Negative och Present Fatalistic. Dessa resultat ger insyn i nya teorier om samband mellan mindfulness, BTP och stress. / This study examined the potential link between time perspective, mindfulness and perceived stress. About 60 students made an online survey involving the Swedish version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the Perceived Stress Scale. The analyses involved simple correlations, multiple linear regression analysis and path analysis. In line with the hypotheses, the results indicated statistically significant correlations between mindfulness, a measure of Balanced Time Perspective (BTP) and perceived stress, as well as an indirect effect of mindfulness on stress levels through Future Negative time perspective, which is linked with Past Negative and Present Fatalistic. These results provide insight into new theories about the relationship between mindfulness, BTP and stress.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a behaviorally-based intervention that promotes values-driven behavior change. ACT teaches skills such as acceptance, present-moment awareness, commitment to values-based actions, and new ways to interact with stressful and anxiety provoking thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness is a popular component of present moment awareness that is often taught within an ACT model of intervention. The purpose of this study was to determine if mindfulness alone or ACT could influence the psychological flexibility and attention of children with autism and related disabilities aged 7-18. Ten participants received 4 weeks of either ACT or mindfulness training in a group therapy setting twice a week. A series of psychological flexibility and mindfulness questionnaires were administered to the participants along with computerized and physical attention tasks prior to and after completing the series of ACT and mindfulness activities sequence. The overall result of the study indicated that ACT may be a way to provide more wholistic services to children and adolescents with autism compared to mindfulness only, but that both interventions have value within this serviced population.

I detta examensarbete undersöktes mindfulnessbaserad stressreduktions eventuella påverkan på krigsveteraner som lider av posttraumatiskt stressyndrom. Ett stort antal krigsveteraner lider av posttraumatisk stress och därmed finns ett stort behov av metoder för rehabilitering. Mindfulness innebär att vara medveten och närvarande i nuet utan att döma eller värdera tankar och känslor som uppkommer både vid utövande ochi vardagen. Metoden har enligt tidigare forskning med andra målgrupper utgjort en bra grundvid stresshantering. Tillvägagångssättet i uppsatsen var systematisk litteraturstudie baserad på Forsberg och Wengströms(2008)granskningsmall. Syftet var att undersöka om mindfulness-baserad stressreduktion kan reducera posttraumatiskt stressrelaterade symptom hos krigsveteraner. Forskningsfrågorna var: Är mindfulnessbaserdstressreduktionen god rehabiliteringsmetod för krigsveteraner med ptsd? Hur påverkas krigsveteranerna vid utövande av mindfulness? Sökning gjordes i databaserna MEDLINE, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, Business Source Premier, WILEY, PsycArticles, Ltu Universitetbibliotek samt PMC. Resultatet indikerar att träning i mindfulness-baserad stressreduktion till viss del reducerar veteranernas stressymptom som depression, socioemotionella svårigheter, ångest och sömnproblem. Mindfulness har även god potential som metod att hjälpa och uppmuntra veteranerna till självhjälp med daglig träning hemmavid. Studien belyser behovet av fortsatt forskning och tillämpning.

Sömnsvårigheter påverkar både kortsiktigt och långsiktigt individens fysiska och psykiska välmående negativt. En metod som i konventionell form visats användbar för att öka sömnkvaliteten hos insomnipatienter är mindfulness och utvecklandet av internetbaserade interventioner tillhandahåller alternativa behandlingssätt. Effekten av en internetbaserad mindfulnessträning i icke-kliniska grupper och mindfulnessträning som en preventiv åtgärd är inte lika välutforskat. Den föreliggande studien har undersökt hur en två veckor lång internetbaserad mindfulnessintervention kan påverka individens upplevda sömnkvalitet och ruminering, samt om ruminering medierar interventionens effekt på sömnkvalitetsskattningen. Mindfulnessprogrammet bestod av tio minuter långa övningar som gjordes två gånger per dag, sex dagar i veckan under två veckors tid. Formulär som användes för att kontrollera de olika utfallsvariablerna var Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) för sömnkvalitet, Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) för ruminering och Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) för att mäta mindfulness. Trettiofem universitetsstudenter fördelade i försöks- (n = 18) och kontrollgrupp (n = 17) fyllde i formulären före och efter interventionen. En uppföljningsmätning gjordes två veckor efter avslutad behandling. Resultaten visade att sömnkvaliteten förbättrades, men förbättringen kunde inte kopplas till någon förändring i rumineringstendenser och resultatet medierades inte heller av ruminering. Uppföljningsmätningen tydde på att träningen måste fortsätta för att uppnå en bestående effekt. Sammanfattningsvis verkar ett två veckor långt internetbaserat mindfulnessprogram kunna förbättra påverka sömnkvaliteten hos en grupp universitetsstudenter, men för att effekten ska bibehållas måste träningen fortgå. Resultatet i kombination med det faktum att det saknas forskning på området motiverar vidare forskning. / Sleeping difficulties can negatively affect an individual’s physical and psychological well-being both short-term and long-term. Mindfulness used in its conventional form (i.e. face to face) has proved effective when it comes to improving sleep quality among insomniacs, and the development of internet-based interventions offers an alternative form of treatment. There is, however, a lack of studies examining the effect of internet-delivered mindfulness training in non-clinical groups, and its use as a preventive measure. The present study aims to investigate whether a two week long internet-delivered mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) can improve perceived sleep quality and rumination, and if rumination mediates the effect between the interventionMBI and sleep quality. The MBI consisted of two ten-minute-long exercises a day, six days a week, for two weeks. Questionnaires used were Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), and Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Thirty-five university students randomly assigned to either intervention (n = 18) or control group (n = 17) filled out the questionnaires before and after the intervention, and at a two-week follow-up. Results showed that sleep quality improved, but the improvement could not be associated with any changes in rumination. The follow-up assessment indicated that continuous training is necessary to  sustain the improvements in sleep quality. In summary, the present study found that a two week long MBI improved sleep quality among a group of university students, but continuous training is needed to retain the effects. The results, and the lack of research on the subject at hand, motivates further research.

Recent research has shown mindfulness practices to be correlated with traits frequently associated with high Executive Functioning (EF) individuals such as greater attention to specific tasks, greater working memory capacity, and the improved ability to inhibit behaviors or emotions. These three traits are highly correlated with each other, and provide an accurate assessment of an individual’s level of Executive Functioning. This study was designed to examine how individual traits associated with Mindfulness such as ‘non-judgement’ can influence attention, working memory and inhibition. This study used three self-administered questionnaires to assess traits associated with mindful individuals and three EF tests to measure performance in inhibition, task shifting and updating working memory tasks. Results showed that certain mindfulness variables from the Freberg Mindfulness Inventory and Five Facet Mindfulness Questioniare, were correlated with performance on working memory tasks while mindfulness experience was not. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Cancer is a life-changing disease that introduces an abundance of psychosocial stress into patient's lives. Exposure to psychosocial stress over periods of weeks or more has a maladaptive effect on the human immune system. Chronic psychosocial stress means elevated activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and the sympathetic-adrenomedullary (SAM) axes which over time induce deleterious physiological effects in the form of glucocorticoid resistance, chronic low-level inflammation, and inhibition of leukocyte telomerase activity. Because these down-stream physiologic effects of psychosocial stress have oncogenic implications, the effective management of chronic stress inherent to a cancer diagnosis should positively impact the efficacy of current cancer therapies. Mindfulness is an age-old concept that has recently gained traction in the medical community for its utility as a cognitive therapy in treating patients with mental health disorders. Although the study of mindfulness as a complementary cancer therapy is in its relative infancy, other examples of mind-body medicine have already been documented to help treat many psychological side effects of cancer including anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, and pain. It has been theorized that mindfulness acts by providing a cognitive strategy to buffer the harmful effects of psychosocial stress. Mindfulness elicits discrete effects on human psychology and physiology that are conducive to the efficacy of current cancer treatments. Mindfulness techniques have shown promise in providing relief for many of the psychological side effects of a cancer diagnosis. In this thesis, we explore the psychological and physiological effects of mindfulness practice that counter-act many of the harmful consequences of chronic stress exposure specifically immunosuppression, chronic inflammation, and telomerase activity.