Mindfulness has historically been cultivated via formal meditation practice and the majority of meditation research examines individuals with extensive training or participants in Mindfulness based stress reduction programs that require considerable expense, a trained facilitator, and take approximately 8 weeks to complete. However, current literature does not speak directly to those who do not have the time or ability for such commitments. Formal mindfulness meditation practice and interventions reduce stress in various populations; however, the outcomes of a one-time intervention are relatively unknown. This study aims to examine whether a one-time (20-min) mindfulness meditation intervention would improve cardiovascular variables during acute stressors in a meditation naïve sample when compared to a control group. Fifty-eight (58) normotensive undergraduate students (27 males, 31 females) with no prior meditation experience were randomly placed into either a treatment group that participated in one-time 15-minute audio training session on mindfulness meditation or a control group which listened to an audio health article. Following the training, participants participated in a psychosocial stressor modeled after the Trier Social Stress Test. Heart rate and blood pressure were assessed before and after the intervention and during the stress task. Results showed the mindfulness meditation condition group was effective in decreasing blood pressure response during the study, when compared to the control group. These results indicate that brief meditation training has beneficial effects on cardiovascular variables. These findings suggest that the benefits of a brief one-time mindfulness meditation intervention can be recognized immediately after a brief training treatment.

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Bakgrund: Psykisk ohälsa har under de senaste åren gått om rörelseorganens sjukdomar som främsta orsak till långtidssjukskrivningar i Sverige. Psykisk ohälsa innebär en försämrad livs­kvalitet för de drabbade och leder till stora samhällskostnader. Forskning krävs för effektivare sjukgymnastiska behandlingsmetoder vid psykisk ohälsa. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att undersöka förändringar avseende ångest, depression, stress och kropps­liga symtom hos patienter som deltagit i gruppbehandling i Basal KroppskännedomTM (BK) i kombination med Mindfulness (MF). Metod: Studien genomfördes med ”single group design”. Mätningar av grad av ångest, depression, stress och kroppsliga symtom utfördes före och efter gruppbehandlingen med formulären HAD, SCL-90 och SCI-93. Sammanlagt behandlades åtta grupper under perioden 2008 – 2010. Behandlingarna omfat­tade mellan 10-12 tillfällen, en gång i veckan á 90 minuter.  De följde BK:s metodik och innehöll även sittande mindfulness och kroppsskanning ur Mindfulness-based Stress Reduc­tion (MBSR). Från dessa åtta grupper rekryterades 67 studiedeltagare. Resultat: Patienternas ångest, depression, stress och kroppsliga symtom minskade signifikant efter gruppbehandlingen. Resultatet i denna studie indikerar att grupp­behandling i BK i kombination med MF kan ha en positiv effekt på psykisk ohälsa. Vidare studier krävs för att närmare undersöka sambandet mellan kombinationsbehandlingen och psykisk ohälsa. / Background: Mental disorders have increased sharply during the last decades, and have surpassed musculoskeletal diseases as the prime cause of long-term sick leave. Mental disorders cause deterioration in quality of life and lead to significant costs for the society. Physiotherapeutic methods for treatment of mental disorders should be developed and evaluated. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in mental disorders with respect to anxiety, depression, stress and bodily symptoms in patients who had participated in a group-treatment combining Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BAT) and Mindfulness (MF). Method: The study was conducted with a "single group design" and measurements of the degree of anxiety, depression, stress and bodily symptoms were made before and after the group-treatment using the forms HAD, SCL-90 and SCI-93. In total eight groups were treated during the period 2008 - 2010. The group-treatment encompassed between ten and twelve sessions, once a week. The treatment was in line withe BAT methodology, and also included sitting mindfulness and body-scan technique in accordance with Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR). From these eight groups, sixty-seven study participants were recruited.                                                                                                                  Results: The patients’ self-rated degree of anxiety, depression, stress and bodily symptoms was significantly reduced after the group-treatment compared to before. The results of the study indicate that group-treatment in Basic BAT combined with MF can have a positive effect on mental disorders. Further studies are however required to further examine the indicated relationship between the combined treatment and mental disorders.

Mindfulness-based interventions reduce depressive symptoms and rumination, and enhance mindfulness in adults; this non-randomised controlled feasibility study aimed to determine whether these conclusions apply to young people, and whether mindfulness and rumination mediate the effect on depressive symptoms. Participants aged 12-16 received a nine-week universal mindfulness intervention in schools delivered by trained teachers (intervention group, N = 256) or their regular school curriculum (control group, N = 266). Intervention schools were matched to control schools on key variables (publicly-funded versus private, mainstream versus special needs). Young people who received the intervention reported fewer depressive symptoms post-intervention relative to controls, which was maintained at three-month follow-up. Mindfulness and rumination were unchanged immediately after the intervention, however by follow-up, intervention participants were significantly more mindful and less likely to ruminate than controls. The extent to which young people practiced mindfulness was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms at post-intervention and follow-up, positively correlated with mindfulness at post-intervention and follow-up, and positively correlated with rumination at follow-up. This universal mindfulness intervention shows promise for reducing depressive symptoms, reducing rumination and increasing mindfulness in young people, however further research is warranted, particularly regarding the mechanisms of change.

xv, 173 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Both Buddhist scholars and psychological researchers have suggested that mindfulness practice may result in greater empathy, but previous research has found mixed results. In addition, Buddhist philosophy suggests that mindfulness should influence the perception of and felt connection to others. Little research, however, has examined such an influence. The present studies examined the effect of dispositional mindfulness, as well as short- and long-term mindfulness meditation practice, on trait and state empathy, social perception, and felt connection to others. Study 1 manipulated mindfulness with a guided meditation CD and found that participants in this condition experienced more serenity and less negative emotion relative to control conditions. Study 1 also clarified the relationship between dispositional mindfulness (measured with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire), empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index), and felt connection (Allo-Inclusive Identity Scale). Results showed that different facets of mindfulness had different correlates. Higher observing scores were related to greater empathic concern and perspective taking; higher nonreactivity scores were related to less personal distress; and higher describing scores were associated with greater felt connection to others. Mindfulness was also associated with social perception such that higher nonreactivity scores were associated with greater ease in making emotion inferences from short video clips and higher describing scores were associated with making more mental state inferences in a modified empathic accuracy task. In Study 2, a randomized 8-week mindfulness intervention caused increases in dispositional mindfulness, especially describing scores, relative to a waitlist control condition. The intervention also resulted in increased serenity and joy and decreased negative affect and tension. Except for changes in serenity, these changes were fully mediated by increases in dispositional mindfulness. Those in the intervention condition decreased in personal distress to others' suffering, increased in the amount of mental state inferences they made for empathic accuracy targets, and increased in their ability to make inferences at times when the targets were actually having a thought or feeling. Thus, mindfulness training not only resulted in intrapersonal changes such as greater serenity and less tension; it also increased cognitive and emotional abilities important for empathy toward other people. / Committee in charge: Bertram Malle, Co-Chairperson, Psychology; Sanjay Srivastava, Co-Chairperson, Psychology; Sara Hodges, Member, Psychology; Mark Unno, Outside Member, Religious Studies

Background: Alongside experiencing physical symptoms with no identifiable organic cause, patients with MUS commonly experience comorbid anxiety and depression. They also have high health utilisation costs, which has implications for the health service. Interventions which target these symptoms in a cost effective way need to be developed and evaluated. Objective: To develop and evaluate a self-help mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention for patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). Methods: A systematic review of the literature was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of MBSR for reducing psychological distress in people with MUS. Study 1 developed and evaluated a self-help MBSR intervention in a clinical setting. Fifteen participants were recruited from eight practice, however only five completed post-intervention measures. A combination of t-tests and descriptive statistics were used to compare changes in levels of psychological distress, quality of life, symptoms and mindfulness at post-intervention. Pearson‘s correlations were used to identify relationships between improvements in mindfulness and improvements in outcomes. Study 2, exploring the reasons for the difficulties recruiting participants to Study 1, was then carried out through questionnaires to GPs. Results: Though more evidence is needed, the systematic review found MBSR to have moderate effects on psychological distress, which are largely maintained or improved at follow-up. Study 1 found symptom frequency and levels of acceptance to have improved at post-intervention. Study 2 found that the main reasons for GPs not recruiting participants was that they were busy and found it difficult to prioritise given other demands. Conclusions: Evidence to date suggests that MBSR is an effective intervention for patients with MUS. Future studies may benefit from recruiting participants from relevant organisations or using alternative methods such as database searches. No firm conclusions can be made about the self-help MBSR intervention‘s efficacy due to the study‘s limitations, however changes seen in the completer group suggest that further research would be warranted.

A group of veteran police officers was studied in relation to the effectiveness of a stress reduction program which utilized a cognitive-behavioral approachto training. A new instrument, the Coulson Police Job Stress Discussionaire, (CPJSD), was field tested. Two control groups, a veteran group who received no stress reduction training and an academy group which received standard basic training but not the stress reduction program, were compared on pre—test and post-test Profile of Mood States (POMS) mood disturbance cores. Contrary to the main hypothesis formulated, there were no significant differences found between the three groups on post-test POMS measures of mood disturbance when compared with pre-test measures. The construct validity of the POMS for use with police officers is challenged. The specific format utilized is discussed and suggestions are offered for future study design. Specific difficulties inherent in the study of police groups are examined. The usefulness of the CPJSD for police job stress reduction program is suggested, as is the need for further field testing of this instrument.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka stress på arbetsplatsen bland vårdpersonal och vad de anser kan vara åtgärder för att minska stressen på sin arbetsplats. Undersökningens datainsamling utfördes genom en kvalitativ metod, fem intervjuersom bestod av tio intervjufrågor. Dataanalysen genomfördes genom att innehållsanalys tillämpades. Analysen resulterade i två teman och genom dessa presenteras resultatet. Det framkom att stressorsaker bland vårdpersonalen var konflikter mellan personal, tidsbrist för vissa arbetsuppgifter och vård vid livets slutskede. Det som vårdpersonalen ansåg skulle kunna minska stressen var en bättre relation mellan personalen och att arbetsplatsen måste ha mer resurser. Slutsatsen av undersökningen är att mycket av det som beskrivits som negativt i resultatet skulle kunna bli bättre om det fanns riktlinjer, något som saknas i nuläget. / The purpose of this study was to explore and describe workplace stress among healthcare workers in a community based nursing home for elderly, dement individuals and what they considered could be measures to reduce stress at their workplace. The method used was a survey made by a qualitative interview with five respondents, consisting of ten interview questions. The data analysis was performed through content analysis. The emerging results showed that causes of stress among the nursing staffwere conflicts between staff members, lack of time for tasks and palliative care. The nursing staff identified that ways to reduce stress could be a better relationship between the staff members and that the work place needs more resources, for example in the form of more personnel. The conclusion of the study was that the work place needs guidelines as to how they should solve problems, and the presence of guidelines at the work place will most probably help to reduce stress among the staff.

Este trabalho apresenta resultados de ensaios laboratoriais e de análises paramétricas, realizadas através do método dos elementos finitos, para a avaliação do comportamento do geocomposto MacDrain 2S quando utilizado como elemento compressível na técnica da trincheira induzida para redução de tensões sobre estruturas enterradas. Mostra-se que este geocomposto fabricado pela Maccaferri América Latina, que tradicionalmente é aplicado em obras de drenagem, apresentou ótimo desempenho para o fim proposto, proporcionando redução de tensões sobre o conduto de até 85,5%. Mostra-se ainda que a utilização de uma camada de geotêxtil sobre o elemento compressível não implica em grandes benefícios de desempenho, o que torna sua utilização descartável. Os resultados experimentais, refinados através das análises numéricas, mostraram que a camada indutora deve ser posicionada o mais próximo possível do conduto, sendo que o número de camadas da inclusão pouco influencia na eficiência do sistema. Valores adequados de larguras das inclusões devem se situar numa faixa entre 2 e 2,5 vezes a distância entre a inclusão e o topo do conduto / This work presents results of laboratory tests and parametric analyses using the finite element method to evaluate the behavior of the MacDrain 2S geocomposite when used as compressible layer of the induced trench method to reduce vertical earth stress on buried structures. The analyses showed that this geocomposite, manufactured by Maccaferri América Latina, that traditionally is applied in drainage works, presented excellent behavior, providing stress reduction up to 85,5%. The results showed that the use of a geotextile layer located over the compressible element did not show a performance, what turns it dispensable. The experimental results, confirmed by the numeric analyses, showed that the compressible layer must be located as near as possible to the culvert crown, and the number of inclusion did not play important role on the system performance. Appropriate values of inclusion width must be situated between 2 and 2,5 times the distance between the geocomposite and the top of the conduit

<p>When behavior is directed toward activities, people, and experiences that people find most important in their lives, they are engaged in valued living. Given that valued living is associated with well-being, quality of life, and happiness, understanding ways in which value-concordant behavior can be promoted, enhanced, and maintained is of utmost importance. Two studies sought to examine the associations between mindfulness--as a dispositional trait and as developed through training--and valued living. In Study 1 dispositional mindfulness was strongly related to three aspects of valued living: the general tendency for people to understand their values and act in value-consistent ways; directing behavior toward valued activities; and clarity of, action toward, and feelings of success and satisfaction with action toward specific important values. Study 2 compared valued living scores of people participating in a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program to a control group. Mindfulness training was related to increased general valuing processes and value-relevant behavior but was not related to increased clarity of, action, or success or satisfaction with action toward specific values. </p><p>The two studies also explored the mechanisms underlying the relationship between mindfulness and valued living. In Study 1, self-compassion, psychological flexibility, and self-clarity each partially mediated the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and valued living, but decentering did not. In Study 2, change in attention mediated the relationship between group (MBSR or control) and valued living, but acceptance, self-compassion, psychological flexibility, self-clarity, and decentering did not. Lastly, both studies found that valued living mediated the relationship between mindfulness and well-being. Taken together, these findings add to the growing body of literature demonstrating the benefits of mindfulness and highlight the important influence that clearly identifying and behaving in accordance with important values has on well-being.</p> / Dissertation