Mindfulness, stress coping and everyday resilience among emerging youth in a university setting: a mixed methods approach

Abstract

Print) 2164-4527 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rady20 Mindfulness, stress coping and everyday resilience among emerging youth in a university setting: a mixed methods approach Srividya Ramasubramanian To cite this article: Srividya Ramasubramanian (2016): Mindfulness, stress coping and everyday resilience among emerging youth in a university setting: a mixed methods approach, Mindfulness, stress coping and everyday resilience among emerging youth in a university setting: a mixed methods approach Srividya Ramasubramanian department of communication, texas a&M university, college station, tX, usa ABSTRACT Mindfulness is defined as non-judgmental awareness in the present lived experience. Researchers find that mindfulness training has benefits such as enhanced positive emotions, reduced stress and increased well-being. However, empirical research on the effectiveness of mindfulness curricula on emerging adults in educational settings is sparse. The present study takes a step towards filling this gap by examining The role of mindfulness communication in improving stress coping among young people. Specifically, this study used a mixed methods approach combining qualitative journaling with a pre-test post-test experiment to understand how a mindfulnessbased communication course improves everyday resilience for first-year college students. Preliminary findings suggest that participants exposed to mindfulness communication training experience more positive emotions and report lesser perceived stress. Further research is needed to better understand the relationships among mindfulness communication, stress coping and academic buoyancy.Mindfulness is defined as non-judgmental awareness in the present moment (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). It stems from ancient Theravada Buddhist philosophy and Indian yoga traditions of samaadhi as a means of gaining personal insight into the meaning of life, the true nature of existence and to achieve long-lasting happiness. There are two primary aspects to mindfulness: the first is attention to one's immediate experience and the second is an orientation to approaching life experiences with a sense of curiosity, acceptance and openness (Baer, 2003). Mindfulness is cultivated through meditative practices that focus on attention regulation (sustained attention to internal and external stimuli such as smells, sounds, feelings and emotions), bodily awareness and non-reactivity to inner experiences (allowing thoughts and emotions to come and go without being caught up with them) (Baer, 2003;Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007). Mindfulness encompasses a variety of practices such as meditation, visualizing, focused thought, deep breathing, nature connectedness and artistic self-expression that are unified in their application of critical first-person attention, focus and intention to the present moment. Existing research demonstrates that mindfulness promotes well-being, stimulates positive emotions and lowers stress-related symptoms such as anxiety, pain, substance abuse and depression...

Effects of mindfulness, coping styles and resilience on job retention and burnout in caregivers supporting aggressive adults with developmental disabilities

“…There has been an increase in research focused on teaching mindfulness skills a method for improving coping and resilience in a number of populations experiencing heightened stress, such as university students (Galante et al . ; Ramasubramanian ), teachers (Skinner & Beers ), trauma victims (Thompson et al . ) and children with psychological problems (Bethell et al .…”

“…Less is known about factors that may protect against burnout and turnover in DSPs, although they are necessary to identify to promote DSP well-being and subsequent quality of supports received by people with DD (Smyth et al 2015). There has been an increase in research focused on teaching mindfulness skills a method for improving coping and resilience in a number of populations experiencing heightened stress, such as university students (Galante et al 2017;Ramasubramanian 2017), teachers (Skinner & Beers 2016), trauma victims (Thompson et al 2011) and children with psychological problems (Bethell et al 2016). Thus, our interest was in exploring how these variables relate to burnout and turnover in caregivers of adults with DD.…”

Can the Mindful Awareness and Resilience Skills for Adolescents (MARS-A) program be provided online? Voices from the Youth

“…Studies have indicated that pediatric participants in 8-week MBIs acquire the skillsets needed to apply mindfulness practices in their daily lives [11,15]. This integration of mindfulness skills can be assessed in different ways including patient report and validated measurement scales [50] and is often used as a proxy to measure the effectiveness of MBIs [12,51]. In our study, participants were able to identify several real-life situations where the acquisition of new mindfulness skills would be useful for them (e.g., when eating, increased forgiveness).…”

Can the Mindful Awareness and Resilience Skills for Adolescents (MARS-A) Program Be Provided Online? Voices from the Youth

“…Studies have indicated that pediatric participants in eight-week MBIs acquire the skillsets needed to apply mindfulness practices in their daily lives [ 11 , 15 ]. This integration of mindfulness skills can be assessed in different ways, including patient report and validated measurement scales [ 50 ], and is often used as a proxy to measure the effectiveness of MBIs [ 12 , 51 ]. In our study, participants were able to identify several real-life situations where the acquisition of new mindfulness skills would be useful for them (e.g., when eating, increased forgiveness).…”