Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is recognized as a worldwide epidemic that is particularly problematic among indigenous populations. Canada’s Aboriginal population experiences rates of T2DM up to 5.3 times higher than the non-Aboriginal population. Stress plays a role in both the development and maintenance of T2DM and stress is prevalent in the commonly disadvantaged Aboriginal population. I hypothesized that, due to its stress reduction effects, a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) could lead to health improvements for Aboriginal adults with T2DM. I also proposed that an MBI would be appropriate for, and acceptable to, Aboriginal people whose healing traditions incorporate aspects of mind, body, and spirit and conducted a mixed methods investigation to determine the effectiveness, acceptability, and suitability of an MBI in Aboriginal adults with T2DM. I recruited participants from urban and rural centres in Manitoba, Canada who took part in an 8-week, mindfulness intervention. Effect sizes and the results of a repeated measures analyses of variance revealed that participants (N = 11) experienced significant and clinically important reductions in blood sugar and blood pressure as well as improvements in emotional health. A thematic analysis on the qualitative data obtained through semi-structured interviews revealed that the participants overcame several challenges to participate, valued the lessons, practices, and perceived benefits of the program, and found the MBI culturally acceptable. Taken together the results support the feasibility of an MBI for Aboriginal adults with T2DM, making it a promising alternative for improving the health and lives of many Canadians.

It is well documented that children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) experience difficulties in several domains of social functioning. Despite this evidence, there are very few interventions that target underlying components of social behaviour. The current study aimed to add to this literature by implementing a mindfulness-based training program for adolescents with FASD. The goals of the study were to analyze the influence of mindfulness training on several aspects of social functioning including perspective taking, emotion regulation, and social problem solving. The study used a pre-post-test design that included 10 children with FASD (ages 12- to17-years). Participants were assessed using experimental measures of social cognition at baseline and 8-week follow-up. In addition, caregivers completed measures that assessed children’s emotionality and social skills at both time points. Analyses revealed that mindfulness training may be effective for improving perspective taking skills in children with FASD. No significant treatment effects were observed for emotion regulation, social skills or social problem solving. Overall, results from this study suggest that mindfulness training is a feasible intervention for children with FASD. / Graduate / 0622

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF STEVEN M. ANDREWS, for the Master of Arts degree in PSYCHOLOGY, presented on 9 JUNE 2009, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: IS MINFULNESS A LUXURY? EXAMINING THE ROLE OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISPOSITIONAL MINDFULNESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Kathleen Chwalisz Mindfulness, or present-moment awareness, has its roots in Buddhism as a cultivatable tool for healing. Researchers have identified health benefits for those who possess higher levels of this trait without practice. This study was a survey-based investigation of the relations among dispositional mindfulness, socioeconomic status, and psychological distress in a diverse sample of university and community college participants (N = 123). Of interest was the notion that mindfulness may be a luxury of the less socioeconomically burdened. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to assess the role of SES in the relation between mindfulness and distress. Mindfulness was found to be a luxury, but its psychological benefits were not influenced by SES. Implications are discussed in the context of mindfulness-based interventions.

The present study examined the effects of a mindfulness activity and a values power point on teacher interactions with students diagnosed with autism. Three classroom assistant teachers participated in the study. All three participants were exposed to the same experimental conditions which consisted of a baseline phase, a mindfulness phase, and a mindfulness and values phase. Positive, neutral, and negative interactions were scored during 30 minute observations directly after sessions were individually conducted. During baseline, two participants had lower interactions than in any other phase. The third participant showed variable responses. Two of the participants were able to increase positive interactions with their students in the classroom by at least 20% from baseline.

Delay discounting involves a hypothetical choice between a smaller-sooner value and a larger-later value. Past research has demonstrated the hypothetical choices made in delay discounting correlate with actual money choices and predict impulsivity with drug use, gambling, and food choices. Though delayed discounting has been studied widely, it is unknown whether impulsivity is a characteristic trait or is influenced by contextual cues. Mindfulness has been demonstrated to improve psychological well-being in various contexts. The present study explored the effect of brief mindfulness exercises on impulsivity through a multiple baseline design across 5 participants. Results were mixed, with some participant’s AUCs increasing post-treatment and others remaining the same or decreasing. The current study raised some questions for future research regarding the contextual control of mindfulness and impulsivity.

An increasing number of publications from a variety of human service fields have sought to utilize mindfulness meditation as a means to reduce psychological distress and increase positive psychological outlooks. These studies typically involve mindfulness training and typically last anywhere from 4 hours to 8 weeks. To date, no published research has established the minimal amount of time for effective outcomes to benefit from mindfulness exposure. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether brief exposure to mindfulness training before a discrete event can lead to positive outcomes in that event and increased mindfulness in a group of university students. A group of 26 undergraduate and graduate students in two different classes were exposed to either a control task (listening to music) or a mindfulness intervention just prior to taking a quiz. The session lasted no more than 30 minutes and the mindfulness intervention itself was timed to not exceed 15 minutes. Visual inspection of the data yielded some positive outcomes in terms of increased performing on a quiz in comparison to quiz grades the week before. Statistical analysis suggested that these outcomes were not statistically significant. This study adds to the research on mindfulness as an intervention for positive outcomes. Implications for future research on practical benefits of mindfulness were discussed.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders, with lifetime prevalence rates of 3 to 13% (Statistics Canada, 2015). SAD is characterized by excessive fear of being negatively judged or scrutinized by others in social or performance situations (Cox, Fleet, & Stein, 2004). Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between SAD and self-compassion, and SAD and mindfulness. People with SAD show lower levels of self-compassion compared to healthy controls (Werner et al., 2012), and some research (Neff and Germer, 2013) has indicated that self-compassion can be taught as a skill to enhance levels of self-compassion and overall well-being. As well, mindfulness is a related concept that has been linked to SAD; those with SAD tend to see improvement to their symptoms with mindfulness-based interventions (e.g., Koszycki et al., 2016). Self-compassion and mindfulness are related but distinct constructs that are thought to influence a variety of mental health outcomes. However, few studies have evaluated these constructs concurrently in the context of mental health. The current study examined associations between trait mindfulness, self-compassion and clinical variables in 136 patients with at least moderately severe social anxiety disorder (SAD). Bivariate correlations revealed that higher ratings of self-compassion and facets of mindfulness were associated with less severe social anxiety and depressive symptoms and better functioning and self-esteem. Self-compassion emerged as the strongest predictor of SAD outcomes in regression models. Mediation analysis found that the mindfulness facet Describe served as an indirect mediator in the relationship between self-compassion and severity of clinician-rated social anxiety symptoms. Self-compassion emerged as a mediator between each facet of mindfulness and severity of self- and clinician-rated social anxiety symptoms. Overall, findings from this preliminary cross-sectional study suggest that self-compassion may be a robust indicator of SAD outcomes, and that the ability to label one’s experience may partially explain the self-compassion–SAD symptom relationship. Implications for further SAD research are discussed.

Psicólogo / El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la influencia que tuvo la participación en un taller basado en meditación Mindfulness sobre el tratamiento general de una población de usuarios del programa intensivo de adicciones del Cosam de Pudahuel, a partir de la experiencia de estos y la visión de los profesionales. Para la generación de la información se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas a los usuarios y un grupo focal a los profesionales a partir de lo cual se realizó un análisis interpretativo de contenido, triangulando la experiencia de los usuarios y la visión de los profesionales, con la visión del investigador y los planteamientos teóricos de la literatura especializada y la neurofenomenología de F. Varela. Esto permitió concluir que la participación en el taller tuvo efectos positivos y consonantes con el tratamiento general de adicciones, en aspectos como: relajación, auto-regulación, cambios cognitivos y exposición, presentes en la literatura. Sin embargo se registraron además otros efectos que se considera no se restringirían únicamente a los objetivos de un tratamiento de adicciones. Otro aspecto importante que pudo evaluarse, es la importancia del diseño de este tipo de intervenciones en la manera de vincularse con la práctica meditativa que desarrollan los usuarios y por tanto también en su impacto. Por último se considera que la meditación si bien posee efectos potencialmente muy terapéuticos, no sería una práctica restringida necesariamente al ámbito de la salud

Psicóloga / Esta investigación tiene como objetivo explorar las características de la experiencia meditativa y su interacción con los constructos Mindfulness y Sentido de Vida a partir de las narrativas de un grupo de meditadores. Con el fin de obtener resultados que trasciendan una tradición meditativa particular, se contó con la participación de instructoras de meditación del centro budista Shambhala y de religiosas de clausura de la Orden del Carmelo Descalzo. Así, este trabajo se transforma en un espacio de encuentro interreligioso, siendo además la primera investigación que estudia la experiencia de mindfulness en meditadores cristianos. La metodología utilizada fue cualitativa: se desarrolló una entrevista con cada participante orientada a recabar información sobre la meditación practicada, la experiencia de mindfulness, la experiencia de sentido de vida y la posible relación entre ambos constructos. Además, previo a la entrevista, se aplicaron las escalas FFMQ para la evaluación de Mindfulness y el test PIL para la evaluación de Sentido de Vida con el objetivo de introducir a las participantes en interrogantes asociadas a dichos constructos. Las dimensiones de ambas escalas fueron abordadas en las entrevistas. Los hallazgos obtenidos confirman la contribución de mindfulness al sentido de la vida: permitiendo su captación, el reconocimiento de un sentido de vida personal, el cuidado del propósito encontrado y favoreciendo la autoconfianza necesaria para llevarlo a cabo. Se concluye entonces, que en independencia de las prácticas meditativas realizadas, la experiencia de mindfulness que surge a partir de ellas posee una estrecha relación con el sentido de vida de las participantes

The purpose of this longitudinal, quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to explore the effects of a standardized bipartite workshop on counselor trainees’ case conceptualization competency. A secondary purpose was to examine the relationship andeffects of mindfulness, anxiety, personality, and the benefits of the training. Master’s level counselor trainees (N = 121) participated in a two-part workshop (3 hours in length per workshop) designed to teach the integrative case conceptualization model (Sperry, 1989). For each workshop, pre- and post-intervention case conceptualizations were rated by at least two independent raters using the Case Conceptualization Evaluation Form 2.0 (CCEF 2.0). Mindfulness was measured by the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire - Short Form (FFMQ-SF), whereas the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Big Five Inventory (BFI) were utilized to measure anxiety and personality, respectively. The differences between the experimental and comparison group’s case conceptualization scores were tested using Welch’s Two Sample t-tests. A significant difference was found between the first workshop’s gain scores of the experimental group (M = 28.32, SD = 10.71) and the comparison group (M = 17.88, SD = 10.54), t(66.31) = 4.17, p < 0.001, CI.95 [5.45, 17.88]; d = 0.98. A similar result was found for the second workshop, there was a significant difference between the experimental group (M = 14.07, SD = 14.29) and the comparison group (M = 6.57, SD = 13.01), t(98.39) = 2.78, p = 0.006, CI.95 [2.15, 12.86]; d = 0.55. A combined anxiety and mindfulness multiple regression provided evidence to support substantial links between anxiety, mindfulness, and case conceptualization F(8, 88) = 8.64, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.44, CI.95[.23, .52]. This model accounted for approximately 44% of the variance of the first (pre-test) case conceptualization scores. Additionally, a moderation effect was detected for anxiety and case conceptualization. There was evidence to suggest that the extraversion personality factor moderates the effect of anxiety on case conceptualization. Post-hoc analyses conducted (cluster analysis) found two significant and unique personality clusters in the data, which were consequently confirmed by discriminant analysis, achieving 90% classification accuracy. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection