Evaluating a brief mindfulness-based self-care intervention on critical care nurses' resilience and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Critical care nurses faced unprecedented challenges during the pandemic, exacerbating stress, burnout, and moral distress. Despite the significant implications of moral distress, few effective interventions exist. Shifting the focus from mitigating moral distress to strengthening moral resilience may help to address this gap and provides an opportunity to shape future research. Mindfulness practices have been shown to reduce distress and burnout, improve well-being and resilience, and may provide a useful tool in mitigating the negative effects of moral distress. Objectives: To determine the efficacy and feasibility of a brief mindfulness-based self-care program on critical care nurses' resilience and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A single-group pretest-posttest design was utilized. From an adult critical care unit in an academic hospital, a convenience sample of nurses working during the pandemic were enrolled. The four-week intervention was offered through a free online application. Participants were asked to complete five assigned guided practices per week at a location and time convenient to them. Pre-and-postintervention surveys were available through Qualtrics and utilized the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Rushton Moral Resilience Scale, and Nurse Well-Being Index to evaluate outcome measures. Practice frequency was automatically tracked by the application. Demographic data and feasibility measures were included. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon signed rank tests, nonparametric permutation tests, and nonparametric bootstrap analyses;a regression analysis evaluated relationships between variables. Results: Thirty nurses completed pretest data, and twenty-three participated in practices and the postintervention survey. Significant changes in resilience, moral resilience and well-being scores were noted. There was no significant correlation between practice frequency and changes in outcome measures. A positive correlation was found between resilience and moral resilience. Resilience measures were negatively correlated with at-risk well-being scores. Participant responses lent support to the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. Conclusion: Participation in a brief, online MBSC intervention appeared beneficial in fostering resilience, moral resilience, and well-being in a sample of critical care nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future studies are warranted. Interventions that offer room for personal and collective growth may be an important next step, particularly as we look forward. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Black experiences of mindfulness and chronic stressors

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and better understand how Black/African American adults view mindfulness, with the goal being to work toward determining how mindfulness may be adapted to be more accessible to Black/African American communities that experience high levels of chronic stress. Participants completed an online survey asking about their experiences of mindfulness. A number of themes were identified and discussed, including initially believing mindfulness was not for them to utilize, finding the practice helpful, and the practice helping to increase awareness of emotions and physical health. Results of this research provide a better understanding of how Black/African American adults experience mindfulness and possible ways in which to introduce and adapt mindfulness to be better implemented into their communities, such as by offering further education on the benefits of mindfulness and introducing mindfulness exercises. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated changes in this study. As such, there are two aspects to this study. This first is the experiences of at-risk youth and mindfulness-based interventions was studied in the literature. The study itself reflects the experiences of Black/African American adults practicing mindfulness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Online delivery of mindfulness practice: Teachers' perception of mindfulness, stress, and self-efficacy

The role of the teacher is vital in promoting a classroom climate that supports student learning and social-emotional well-being. However, little consideration is given to offering interventions to support teachers in reducing stress and burnout that result in teacher turnover. Studies have concluded mindfulness practices to be an effective intervention for teachers to reduce stress, increase emotional regulation, and promote well-being. The restrictions resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic caused many educational institutions to shift to a distance learning model. The applications of online mindfulness for classroom teachers are just beginning to be explored, with few studies investigating the effects of online mindfulness training for teachers. The purpose of this case study was to examine teacher perceptions of mindfulness, stress, and self-efficacy following a district-led online delivery of mindfulness at a selected public school in southeast Texas. The study involved participants experienced with online delivery of mindfulness training in the school year 2020-2021 and who continued mindfulness practice in 2021-2022 school year. A mixed-methods research approach was used in this case study. The findings from the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire- Short Form revealed awareness was statistically significant. Findings from the Perceived Stress Scale revealed 66% of participants had moderate stress levels. The Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale-Short Form findings revealed all the variables were statistically significantly different from how teachers perceived the delivery of teacher self-efficacy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Evaluating an online-delivered mindfulness-based stress reduction program for parents of children with externalizing behavior concerns

Many parents experience elevated levels of stress, or the perceived inability to cope with one's situational demands. Parents of children with externalizing behavioral concerns tend to experience even higher levels of stress than parents of children without significant behavior concerns due to the transactional and bidirectional nature of child behavior and parent stress. The Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) model suggests that families work to balance demands with capabilities, which interact with family meanings, to achieve adjustment or adaptation. Thus, increasing capabilities is an important task for families experiencing stress. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), rooted in mindfulness theory, is an increasingly popular framework for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. MBSR has been successfully used in many populations including parents to reduce parent stress and even help to improve child outcomes. However, there is a dearth of research on MBSR for parents of children with externalizing behavior concerns. One accessible, research-supported, online-delivered MBSR program is called Be Mindful. Currently, there is no extant research on the effects of this program for parent stress and child behavior outcomes. This hybrid effectiveness-implementation intervention study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of this publicly accessible, online, self-mediated MBSR program (Be Mindful) for reducing parent stress and decreasing child externalizing behavior immediately following completion of the program and at one-month follow-up. Other major aims of the study were to determine whether the online-delivered MBSR intervention was acceptable to parents and to characterize how parents engaged with the MBSR program. Participants included a 38 mothers, fathers, and other primary caretakers of children ages two to ten years with behavioral concerns living across the United States. Children were a community sample presenting with externalizing behavior concerns at or above the at-risk range (raw score >= 115) based on the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory whose parents had stress levels at or above the 60th percentile on any domain of the Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition. Parents engaged in the 4-module Be Mindful (MBSR) program for between 4 and 10 weeks and completed pre-, post-, and follow-up adult stress and child behavior measures. Parents also completed usage and satisfaction reports throughout the study. Results of the study provided promising support for the Be Mindful intervention within this particular population: there were robust, statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in both parent stress and externalizing child behavior problems following completion of the intervention that maintained through one-month follow-up. Additionally, participants generally found the intervention to be acceptable and practiced the skills a moderate amount during the intervention phase. Open-ended and quantitative feedback provides information regarding barriers and facilitators to intervention use. These results are important within the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, provide further support for the increasingly popular MBSR framework in an online format, and uniquely examine effects on both parent stress and child behavior in a real-world sample. Limitations, directions for future research, and implications for practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The effect of mindfulness meditation on the stress, anxiety, mindfulness, and self-compassion levels of nursing students

Studies have revealed that nursing students experience greater amounts of stress and anxiety than the average college student. Nursing students attribute increased stress levels to the twin demands of their classroom and clinical workloads. Higher stress levels frequently result in students reporting symptoms of poor health and lack of psychological well-being. It is important to note that some nursing students are also actively working in clinical settings and contending with the added stress of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Mindfulness meditation is a natural measure that can help alleviate the feelings of perceived stress and anxiety and improve levels of mindfulness and self-compassion.An experimental two group pretest-posttest randomized controlled design was used to evaluate the effect of a virtual mindfulness meditation intervention on levels of perceived stress, anxiety, self-compassion, and mindfulness of nursing students. Study participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group and received recordings prepared by the study authors. The intervention group received a 10-minute mindfulness meditation recording each week and the control group simultaneously received five 10-minute separate recordings on nursing news and information. Both groups were instructed to listen to the recordings at least three days per week for four weeks. The instruments used in this study were the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder subscale (GAD-7), the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), and the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). These surveys were provided at baseline and at a 4-week follow-up. The study presented in this dissertation is part of a larger study that was a collaboration between this author, Debra Heinrich, and Shohini Holden. Other instruments in the original study that are not discussed here are the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS) and the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ).This dissertation consists of three articles. The first article provides an analysis of the effect of a mindfulness meditation intervention on the stress and anxiety levels of nursing students. A two-way mixed ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between group assignment and timing of test on participants' stress levels and on their anxiety levels. Follow-up simple main effects tests involving independent-samples t tests revealed that the intervention group, receiving the online mindfulness meditation recordings, experienced lower levels of stress and anxiety on the posttest surveys than the control group. The second article reports on a study of the effect of the intervention on mindfulness and self-compassion levels. The findings of a two-way mixed ANOVA and independent t tests demonstrated that mindfulness meditation can increase levels of mindfulness and self-compassion in nursing students. The third article compares two instruments used to self-report feelings of anxiety, reports on the demographic variables related to anxiety among nursing students, and explores the correlation between levels of mindfulness and levels of anxiety in this study. There were no significant relationships found between any demographic variable and anxiety scores. The GAD-7 instrument was found to be more sensitive to mild and moderate anxiety then the DASS instrument, and it is, therefore, the recommended instrument for use in nursing programs. There was a significant inverse relationship between levels of mindfulness and anxiety for students in this study.The findings of this study demonstrate that mindfulness meditation can reduce stress and anxiety, while increasing mindfulness and self-compassion levels in nursing students. This could be useful for nurse educators assisting students to manage the stress and anxiety often experienced in nursing education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Training and utility of mindfulness among school psychologists

The role of school psychologists (SPs) includes consulting with parents, teachers, and working directly with students. Researchers have demonstrated a high rate of burnout among professionals in this field (e.g., Huebner, 1992;Schilling et al., 2018). Mindfulness-based interventions have been found to be useful to address symptoms of burnout among other professionals (e.g., physicians: Luken & Sammons, 2016). Mindfulness has also been theorized as particularly useful for the myriad roles that school psychologists work within (Alahari, 2017). Although research into the utility of mindfulness have found positive effects for students within the schools (e.g., Felver et al., 2016), no research has addressed the utility of mindfulness among school psychologists. The present study recruited practicing SPs to complete a series of surveys designed to collect the level of training and use of mindfulness, trait mindfulness, and burnout. SPs reported relatively high levels of training and familiarity with the concept, primarily through professional development. Results showed that use of mindfulness was positively related to overall familiarity. Level of burnout was also shown to be negatively related to use of mindfulness. Finally, trait mindfulness was negatively related to symptoms of burnout among practicing SPs. Qualitative themes included factors related to burnout (e.g., leadership, COVID-19), the benefit of mindfulness and other strategies to address burnout, how mindfulness can improve therapeutic relationships, and buy-in as a prevalent barrier for mindfulness in the schools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Does a six-week online mindfulness intervention affect burnout in registered nurses working in an adult inpatient rehabilitation setting during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Burnout syndrome is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion that affects approximately 70% of nurses globally. Nurses are at higher risk for experiencing burnout due to work, home, and career demands. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the number of nurses experiencing burnout, as they continue to care for patients in highly stressful environments. Mindfulness meditation is a successful strategy for mitigating and managing burnout. Nursing leaders must raise awareness regarding burnout, lack of self-care, and wellbeing among nurses. The purpose of this quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest interventional study design was to examine if a six-week online mindfulness intervention decrease burnout levels related to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of personal accomplishment, as measured by Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) Toolkit, in registered nurses who cared for adults in a single, inpatient urban care setting located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty-eight consenting registered nurses (RNs) participated in the study. The intervention group (n =25) participated in the mindfulness intervention only. The comparison group (n =13) did not participate in the intervention. Data findings supported statistically significant improvement in MBI subscale PA (p = 0.00006) and clinically significant change in MBI subscale EE (from 27.6 to 24.0) post-intervention. These results suggest that healthcare organizations should implement weekly mindfulness intervention activities to mitigate nurse burnout. Additionally, replication studies are warranted to identify and examine predictors related to burnout and study interventions to mitigate burnout and improve mental well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The Utility of Meditation and Mindfulness-Based Interventions in the Time of COVID-19: A Theoretical Proposition and Systematic Review of the Relevant Prison, Quarantine and Lockdown Literature.

As of July 20, 2021, Covid-19 has killed 4,086,000 people, infected at least 190,169,833 others, and devastated the world's economy. To slow the spread of the virus, numerous governments instituted "lockdown" policies and quarantines, limiting social interactions to the immediate household. The experience of isolation and uncertainty have contributed to increased fear, anxiety, and loneliness; with limited options of research-supported interventions. Although different in nature, the experiences of quarantine and lockdown have been likened to incarceration. Past research has found meditation and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to be effective psychological treatments for prisoners and may therefore translate well into effective methods for the maintenance of psychological well-being for individuals quarantined during the pandemic. More recently, research investigating the effects of meditation and MBIs during the pandemic have demonstrated preliminary evidence for beneficial psychological improvements. In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA), the current narrative review paper: 1) examines the parallels and differences between the experience of quarantine and imprisonment, 2) investigates the mechanisms through which meditation and mindfulness enact their effects, and 3) systematically reviews literature on the benefits of various types of meditation and MBIs for inmates and individuals in lockdown or quarantine. With this knowledge, the public can garner applicable insight into the potential use of meditation and MBIs for individuals forced to cope with pandemic lockdowns and quarantines. Two hundred and twenty one (221) articles were identified through Pubmed and Google Scholar, and 24 articles were ultimately included in the manuscript.

Outcomes From an Online Pilot Mindfulness Based Intervention with Adolescents: A Comparison by Categories of Risk.

Comorbid psychiatric presentations, defined as those who present with more than one mental and/or behavioral health diagnosis at the same time, during adolescence are on the rise. Mindfulness-based interventions can alleviate psychological symptoms and improve emotion regulation in youth. Mindfulness is a multifaceted phenomenon, with five underlying facets (Observing, Describing, Acting with Awareness, Non-Judgment and Non-Reactivity of Inner Experience). Little evidence has documented which facets produce pronounced psychiatric symptom reduction for adolescents. This pilot study examined the efficacy of an online mindfulness-based intervention delivered to adolescents undergoing mental health treatment during COVID-19 to reduce psychiatric outcomes. Fifty-six adolescents (m = 14.5 years, 66.1% female) categorized as moderate-risk (treatment histories of outpatient therapy only) or high-risk (treatment histories with intensive service participation) participated in the 8-session mindfulness-based intervention. Significant reductions in psychiatric symptoms and increases in adaptive coping strategies were observed at post-test, particularly for those at moderate-risk. Multivariate stepwise regression found significant associations between mindfulness facet use and anxiety, depression, and somatic symptoms (R 2 ranging from 42.5 to 52.8%). Results indicate preliminary efficacy for an online mindfulness-based intervention for adolescents, particularly those at moderate-risk, due to the introduction of new coping skills, given their history of less intense treatment. Further investigation is warranted to understand which mindfulness facet intervention components produce the most prominent outcomes.

Using Mindfulness-Based Interventions to Support Self-regulation in Young Children: A Review of the Literature.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a rise in stress, mental health concerns, and externalizing behaviors in children and their caregivers across the globe and illuminated the need to reduce stress levels and support self-regulation skills in even the youngest of children. The goal of this literature review is to describe what research has shown about the use of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to support young children's self-regulation in early childhood settings. A total of 18 research studies conducted between 2010 and 2021 were identified. The main purposes of the studies reviewed were to examine the effects of MBIs on the development of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive self-regulation. Results showed that teachers generally found mindfulness practices feasible, acceptable, and effective in their classrooms. Although MBIs were found to have mixed effects on self-regulation in young children, positive effects on self-regulation were significantly greater for children in need of additional support, including those with difficulties or delays in developing self-regulation skills. The current review found a wide variety of MBIs used in early childhood settings globally. The results of this review suggest that teaching mindfulness practices to young children and their caregivers can both support the development of self-regulation of young children and foster socially and emotionally healthy environments in which this development can occur.

Effectiveness of virtual mindfulness-based interventions on perceived anxiety and depression of physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic: A pre-post experimental study.

Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) created unprecedented stress on physicians. Mindfulness is a type of meditation that focuses on being fully present, aware of senses, and emotions in the present moment without analyzing or judging them, and it may help reduce psychological distress in physicians. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of virtual mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on physicians' perceived anxiety and depression and different facets of mindfulness. Methods: During the COVID-19 pandemic, an online survey was administered to physicians to assess depression, anxiety, and awareness using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), 7-item General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), and Five-Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), respectively. Physicians that received the virtual MBI sessions also completed post-questionnaires at a 3-week follow-up time point. Results: A total of 125 physicians responded to the online survey, with 56 completing the MBI. The prevalence of moderate to severe anxiety and depression was 45.0 and 46.7%, respectively. Mindfulness scores were negatively associated with depression (r = -0.38, P < 0.001) and anxiety (r = -0.36, p < 0.001). Mindfulness scores for the 56 physicians who received virtual MBI sessions were significantly improved (mean difference ± SD, 17.7 ± 16.1, p = 0.001). Significant reductions were also evidenced in anxiety (4.4 ± 4.2) and depression (4.5 ± 5.1) scores (p's < 0.001). There was also an improvement in mindfulness facets of observing (5.1 ± 4.7), describing (2.3 ± 4.3), acting with awareness (2.7 ± 5.3), non-judging of inner experience (3.6 ± 6.1), and non-reactivity to inner experience (3.9 ± 4.0) (p's < 0.001). A facet of mindfulness, acting with awareness was most efficiently associated with improved anxiety (B = -0.3, p = 0.02) and depression (B = -0.4, p = 0.01). Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that virtual MBI improved physicians' psychological wellbeing and mindfulness during the crisis. Regular mindfulness practice may help physicians to tolerate and handle unpleasant circumstances, such as future epidemics or pandemics.

Evaluating an online-delivered mindfulness-based stress reduction program for parents of children with externalizing behavior concerns

Many parents experience elevated levels of stress, or the perceived inability to cope with one's situational demands. Parents of children with externalizing behavioral concerns tend to experience even higher levels of stress than parents of children without significant behavior concerns due to the transactional and bidirectional nature of child behavior and parent stress. The Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) model suggests that families work to balance demands with capabilities, which interact with family meanings, to achieve adjustment or adaptation. Thus, increasing capabilities is an important task for families experiencing stress. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), rooted in mindfulness theory, is an increasingly popular framework for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. MBSR has been successfully used in many populations including parents to reduce parent stress and even help to improve child outcomes. However, there is a dearth of research on MBSR for parents of children with externalizing behavior concerns. One accessible, research-supported, online-delivered MBSR program is called Be Mindful. Currently, there is no extant research on the effects of this program for parent stress and child behavior outcomes. This hybrid effectiveness-implementation intervention study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of this publicly accessible, online, self-mediated MBSR program (Be Mindful) for reducing parent stress and decreasing child externalizing behavior immediately following completion of the program and at one-month follow-up. Other major aims of the study were to determine whether the online-delivered MBSR intervention was acceptable to parents and to characterize how parents engaged with the MBSR program. Participants included a 38 mothers, fathers, and other primary caretakers of children ages two to ten years with behavioral concerns living across the United States. Children were a community sample presenting with externalizing behavior concerns at or above the at-risk range (raw score >= 115) based on the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory whose parents had stress levels at or above the 60th percentile on any domain of the Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition. Parents engaged in the 4-module Be Mindful (MBSR) program for between 4 and 10 weeks and completed pre-, post-, and follow-up adult stress and child behavior measures. Parents also completed usage and satisfaction reports throughout the study. Results of the study provided promising support for the Be Mindful intervention within this particular population: there were robust, statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in both parent stress and externalizing child behavior problems following completion of the intervention that maintained through one-month follow-up. Additionally, participants generally found the intervention to be acceptable and practiced the skills a moderate amount during the intervention phase. Open-ended and quantitative feedback provides information regarding barriers and facilitators to intervention use. These results are important within the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, provide further support for the increasingly popular MBSR framework in an online format, and uniquely examine effects on both parent stress and child behavior in a real-world sample. Limitations, directions for future research, and implications for practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Black experiences of mindfulness and chronic stressors

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and better understand how Black/African American adults view mindfulness, with the goal being to work toward determining how mindfulness may be adapted to be more accessible to Black/African American communities that experience high levels of chronic stress. Participants completed an online survey asking about their experiences of mindfulness. A number of themes were identified and discussed, including initially believing mindfulness was not for them to utilize, finding the practice helpful, and the practice helping to increase awareness of emotions and physical health. Results of this research provide a better understanding of how Black/African American adults experience mindfulness and possible ways in which to introduce and adapt mindfulness to be better implemented into their communities, such as by offering further education on the benefits of mindfulness and introducing mindfulness exercises. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated changes in this study. As such, there are two aspects to this study. This first is the experiences of at-risk youth and mindfulness-based interventions was studied in the literature. The study itself reflects the experiences of Black/African American adults practicing mindfulness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The effect of mindfulness meditation on the stress, anxiety, mindfulness, and self-compassion levels of nursing students

Studies have revealed that nursing students experience greater amounts of stress and anxiety than the average college student. Nursing students attribute increased stress levels to the twin demands of their classroom and clinical workloads. Higher stress levels frequently result in students reporting symptoms of poor health and lack of psychological well-being. It is important to note that some nursing students are also actively working in clinical settings and contending with the added stress of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Mindfulness meditation is a natural measure that can help alleviate the feelings of perceived stress and anxiety and improve levels of mindfulness and self-compassion.An experimental two group pretest-posttest randomized controlled design was used to evaluate the effect of a virtual mindfulness meditation intervention on levels of perceived stress, anxiety, self-compassion, and mindfulness of nursing students. Study participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group and received recordings prepared by the study authors. The intervention group received a 10-minute mindfulness meditation recording each week and the control group simultaneously received five 10-minute separate recordings on nursing news and information. Both groups were instructed to listen to the recordings at least three days per week for four weeks. The instruments used in this study were the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder subscale (GAD-7), the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), and the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). These surveys were provided at baseline and at a 4-week follow-up. The study presented in this dissertation is part of a larger study that was a collaboration between this author, Debra Heinrich, and Shohini Holden. Other instruments in the original study that are not discussed here are the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS) and the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ).This dissertation consists of three articles. The first article provides an analysis of the effect of a mindfulness meditation intervention on the stress and anxiety levels of nursing students. A two-way mixed ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between group assignment and timing of test on participants' stress levels and on their anxiety levels. Follow-up simple main effects tests involving independent-samples t tests revealed that the intervention group, receiving the online mindfulness meditation recordings, experienced lower levels of stress and anxiety on the posttest surveys than the control group. The second article reports on a study of the effect of the intervention on mindfulness and self-compassion levels. The findings of a two-way mixed ANOVA and independent t tests demonstrated that mindfulness meditation can increase levels of mindfulness and self-compassion in nursing students. The third article compares two instruments used to self-report feelings of anxiety, reports on the demographic variables related to anxiety among nursing students, and explores the correlation between levels of mindfulness and levels of anxiety in this study. There were no significant relationships found between any demographic variable and anxiety scores. The GAD-7 instrument was found to be more sensitive to mild and moderate anxiety then the DASS instrument, and it is, therefore, the recommended instrument for use in nursing programs. There was a significant inverse relationship between levels of mindfulness and anxiety for students in this study.The findings of this study demonstrate that mindfulness meditation can reduce stress and anxiety, while increasing mindfulness and self-compassion levels in nursing students. This could be useful for nurse educators assisting students to manage the stress and anxiety often experienced in nursing education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Training and utility of mindfulness among school psychologists

The role of school psychologists (SPs) includes consulting with parents, teachers, and working directly with students. Researchers have demonstrated a high rate of burnout among professionals in this field (e.g., Huebner, 1992;Schilling et al., 2018). Mindfulness-based interventions have been found to be useful to address symptoms of burnout among other professionals (e.g., physicians: Luken & Sammons, 2016). Mindfulness has also been theorized as particularly useful for the myriad roles that school psychologists work within (Alahari, 2017). Although research into the utility of mindfulness have found positive effects for students within the schools (e.g., Felver et al., 2016), no research has addressed the utility of mindfulness among school psychologists. The present study recruited practicing SPs to complete a series of surveys designed to collect the level of training and use of mindfulness, trait mindfulness, and burnout. SPs reported relatively high levels of training and familiarity with the concept, primarily through professional development. Results showed that use of mindfulness was positively related to overall familiarity. Level of burnout was also shown to be negatively related to use of mindfulness. Finally, trait mindfulness was negatively related to symptoms of burnout among practicing SPs. Qualitative themes included factors related to burnout (e.g., leadership, COVID-19), the benefit of mindfulness and other strategies to address burnout, how mindfulness can improve therapeutic relationships, and buy-in as a prevalent barrier for mindfulness in the schools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

An online mindfulness intervention for medical students in South Africa: A randomised controlled trial.

Background: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, an association was observed between medical students' stress, possibly because of an intensive academic workload and clinical responsibilities, and mental ill health. The literature has shown the benefit of online mindfulness interventions for different mental health challenges. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of information on their benefit to medical students in South Africa. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore whether medical students attending an online mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) would show improved resilience and stress management compared with attendance at an online supportive counselling (SC) programme. Secondary to this was the viability of the intervention, for which an in-depth understanding of participants' experiences was sought. Setting: The study setting was online through https://zoom.us/. Methods: Forty-five participants were randomly allocated between two 6-week, teacher-facilitated groups. A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) of outcome, well-being, perceived stress and self-compassion scores conducted at three time points, as well as thematic analysis of participant feedback, contributed to quantitative and qualitative data. Results: Participants in both the groups showed significant improvement over time in measures of well-being, perceived stress and subjective stress management. Participants in the mindfulness group showed a statistically significant treatment effect in mindfulness at programme completion. A decrease in self-compassion over time was observed in both the groups. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that in this South African medical student cohort, an online MBI and a SC programme are both feasible and show potential for reducing stress, increasing stress management and increasing resilience. Further study in this area is recommended.

Telehealth and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIS) in the era of COVID-19

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have increased in popularity, resulting in an increase in RCTs assessing MBI treatment outcomes (Keng et al., 2011). While this dissertation was in development, COVID-19 was discovered and declared a pandemic by the Director of the World Health Organization in March of 2020 due to the rapid spread of the virus (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021;World Health Organization [WHO], 2020). A mental health crisis was declared by the United Nations (2020), and they urged access to mental health care through accessible means such as telehealth. An abbreviated four-week mindfulness-based intervention program via telehealth was provided to individuals with an anxiety or depressive disorder from a community mental health center. It was hypothesized that individuals receiving MBI+TAU via telehealth would show a higher rate of improved treatment outcomes in comparison to the individuals receiving TAU-only as indicated via PHQ-9, GAD-7, and MAAS scores with the MBI+TAU participants also providing subjective experience reports via a 5-point Likert Scale at post-intervention. Results indicate that when comparing MBI+TAU to the TAU-only group there was not an overall group effect for the PHQ-9 (F=0.16, p=.85) or the GAD-7 (F=0.01, p=.91). Follow-up contrast analyses confirms that the main significant effect for GAD-7 is among pre-treatment and follow- up of the TAU-only sample (p=.05), and a slight effect between pre and post treatment for the MBI+TAU group (p=.08). For PHQ-9, the TAU-only showed no effects across time points, while the MBI+TAU showed a significant difference over time (F=8.7, p<.01) with follow-up t-tests indicating a significant difference between pre & post PHQ- 9 means (p<.001), as well as between post & follow-up (p=.02). MBI+TAU participants identified an overall positive view of improvements in their anxiety and depression symptoms and mindful awareness skills via self-report (Likert scale). These results support other empirical findings that MBIs reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety from pre to post intervention but not at the follow-up time point (Elices et al., 2017, Khoury et al., 2013;Wang et al., 2018) and may be most effective used in conjunction with TAU (Strauss et al., 2014;Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The use of mindfulness practices to reduce perceived stress levels in an elementary special education environment

The research and literature behind teaching mindfulness practices to support self-regulation are overwhelmingly favorable-many journals currently available report positive outcomes when using mindfulness practice interventions with research subjects. However, the majority of research now focuses on adult practitioners. This study proposed that elementary special education students would have similar benefits when engaging in the practices, and through learned self-regulation, perceived stress rates would decrease. Students participated in a six-week cycle of mindfulness practice (meditation, positive affirmations, and gratitude journaling), and perceived stress levels were measured prior to and upon the completion of the cycle. The results were favorable as many participants reported positive outcomes in perceived student stress decreasing, and an ability to control one's thoughts and slow them down increasing. The initial PDSA cycle steps have been outlined in this paper;the outcomes have been delineated. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Mindful attention for reading and class (MARC): A DBT-informed group intervention for college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Up to 80% of children diagnosed with ADHD have symptoms that persist into adulthood (Barkley et al., 2007), and up to 8% of college students report having the disorder (DuPaul et al., 2009). COVID-19 has exacerbated ADHD-related difficulties with concentration, academic performance, and emotional distress (Breaux et al., 2021;Pollak et al., 2021). Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills training has shown promise as an effective intervention for ADHD in college students (Fleming et al., 2015) although DBT has typically been delivered face to face over a number of months. The current study was designed to assess the effectiveness of a brief (2-session) DBT-informed group intervention delivered via telehealth. Thirty-three students with at least five DSM-5 symptoms of ADHD were randomized to either a DBT skills group or a Brain Training group which consisted of online puzzle and attention games. Students in both groups received validation, discussion with peers, and psychoeducation. Students completed several measures related to number of ADHD symptoms, quality of life, mindfulness, and visual and auditory attention across three time points (pre, post, and one month follow-up). Statistical analyses revealed no differences based on treatment condition. However, regardless of group intervention, students did report improvements in quality of life, use of mindful nonjudgement skills, and number of ADHD symptoms. The results of this study suggest that providing an open and supportive environment for students with ADHD to meet and discuss their symptoms, learn about their disorder, and provide support to one another, may be beneficial. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Administrators' perceptions of mindfulness practices in southeastern, racially and ethnically diverse urban elementary schools

Mindfulness practices are increasingly used in schools;however, there is a gap in practice when it comes to their use. The problem investigated through this basic qualitative study was the implementation of school mindfulness practice (SMP) of elementary school administrators in a large, urban area in the southeast United States. The purpose of this project study was to understand urban elementary school administrators' perceptions of the implementation of SMP in predominantly racially and ethnically diverse, urban elementary schools. The conceptual framework was the instructional leadership model of Murphey, Hallinger, Weil, and Mittman that emphasizes the importance of understanding administrative functions, school activities, and organizational processes. The research questions explored how school administrators perceive the implementation of SMPs and what administrators perceive were challenges or supports as they led the implementation of SMPs. The participants were six school administrators from four elementary schools who were selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and were analyzed using coding and thematic analysis. The findings revealed that school administrators used SMPs for positive outcomes in academics and behavior as well as to manage the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings may help administrators to better understand their role in the successful planning and implementation of SMPs to address student behavior problems. The project deliverable is a 3-day professional development training for school administrators to learn strategies to use SMPs. The SMP strategies may help school administrators to achieve higher student academic outcomes, leading to positive social change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)