Asian young adults (AYA) experience the highest degree of psychological distress and greatest unmet mental health needs among Asian individuals in the U.S. since the Covid-19 pandemic. Compared to European Americans and other ethnoracial minorities, Asians are least likely to utilize mental health services, leading to elevated levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. There is …
Grant Type Archives:
Voces de la Comunidad: MBRP providers’ considerations for culturally responsive treatment with Latinx communities
Mindfulness research to date may represent a distorted view of the contextual factors that contribute to discrepancies in substance use treatment and engagement with Latinx clients. Specifically, underutilization and early termination rates seen in Latinx populations may be due to a lack of appropriate interventions for these individuals, stemming from the historical underrepresentation of ethno-racial …
Mindfulness-based intervention to address mental distress and burnout among healthcare staff in Vietnam
Healthcare workers worldwide confront high rates of depression and anxiety, suicidal ideation and attempts, low self-esteem, and burnout reported among HCWs. Although mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) show promise in promoting psychosocial wellbeing and flourishing among HCWs, they have not been tested in Southeast Asia. This study proposes to adapt and implement an MBI in Vietnam (Aim …
Protecting college students’ well-being with mindfulness-infused dance movement therapy
Prior findings suggest that college students (CS) are facing an acute mental health crisis. Rates of psychological disorders significantly increased in college students (CS) in the beginning months of the pandemic compared to the latter portion of 2019. Recent reports suggest that CS identifying as racial or ethnic minorities are more vulnerable to psychological health …
Clearing the gates of perception: Examining the effects of Jhana meditation on sensory predictions in the predictive brain
Contemplative traditions and cognitive scientists have long been studying the mechanisms of attention and its effects on consciousness. Meditation is a practice through which agents can deliberately control attention and thus alter their experience of the surrounding world. Recent theoretical work has used predictive processing—a prominent and unifying theory of brain function—to explain this mechanism. …
Adherence in naturalistic use of digital meditation-based interventions
Daniel Goldman and Richie Davidson, two eminent contemplative scientists, propose that with meditation practice there is a “deep path” that involves intensive practice for self-transformation and a “wide path” that involves less intensive practice to support mental health and emotional resilience. The wide path, which is meant to reach large numbers of people, is increasingly …
Continue reading “Adherence in naturalistic use of digital meditation-based interventions”
Feasibility and acceptability of a culturally adapted mindfulness-based intervention to reduce stress among Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African Americans
Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African (MENA) Americans experience elevated rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, and other health concerns such as cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. At the same time, they lack access to culturally acceptable interventions that target underlying risk factors, such as stress. Further, Arab/MENA Americans are vulnerable to racial-ethnic stress, including discrimination …
Promoting critically compassionate reading comprehension using justice-oriented narrative texts in middle school
This study aims to develop a 4-week reading comprehension intervention, grounded in the practice of compassion, involving middle school students reading justice-oriented narrative texts. Compassion in this context is defined as a feeling (affective state) that arises in bearing witness to others’ suffering and an understanding (cognitive state) of the context from the perspective of …
Mindfulness Without Borders: Advancing mindfulness research across disciplines through interdisciplinary studies, an international consortium, and an open science database
Over the past four decades, research has shown that mindfulness brings substantial benefits for both mental and physical well-being. However, the mechanisms underlying these positive effects remain unclear and fragmented across different scientific domains. Psychologists study psychological processes impacted by mindfulness, neuroscientists explore brain changes, and molecular biologists focus on inflammation and genes. To truly …
Bridging minds and nature: Integrating contemplative wisdoms for enhancing nature-connectedness, pro-ecological behavior, and well-being
The intricate bond between nature and the human psyche plays a pivotal role in shaping human well-being and environmental health. Disconnection from nature poses substantial risks to both. Urgent global challenges, such as the climate emergency and biodiversity loss, underscore the need to restore this relationship. This research aims to investigate if integrating contemplative wisdom …
