Initial Efficacy of a Community-Derived Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Latinx Parents and their Children.

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) may offer a means for Latinx families to ameliorate stress, enhance emotion regulation, and foster social support. We assessed pilot data from Latinx parents in Eastside Los Angeles (n = 27) matched with their children aged 10-16 (n = 32) to determine whether participation in a community-derived MBI was associated with greater improvements in dispositional mindfulness, perceived stress, emotion regulation, and family social support compared to a control condition. Compared to the control group, parents in the MBI group showed greater reductions in perceived stress scale (PSS) scores (B = - 2.94, 95% CI [- 5.58, - 0.39], p = 0.029), while their children reported greater increases in perceived social support from family (B = 2.32, 95% CI [0.26, 4.38], p = 0.027). Findings show a community-derived MBI may improve stress in Latinx parents and social support for their children.

Seeking refuge in the present moment: A qualitatively refined model of dispositional mindfulness, minority stress, and psychosocial health among Latino/a sexual minorities and their families.

Racial/ethnic and sexual minorities may experience excess stress from social prejudice and structural disadvantage, which is associated with family relationship problems and poorer psychosocial health. There is increasing evidence that certain positive psychological processes can attenuate these negative outcomes at the individual and interpersonal levels; however, the mechanisms of these effects remain poorly understood. Based on previous research and two extant conceptual frameworks, we constructed a preliminary model of how dispositional mindfulness operated in the context of minority stress among Latino/a sexual minority young adults and their families. We then conducted semi-structured interviews in a life history format with 21 Latino/a sexual minority young adults and 15 family members to test our preliminary model and refine it. We mixed content analysis and grounded theory techniques, whereby we initially used deductive coding with pre-established codes based on our preliminary model, and subsequently used inductive coding to account for novel categories in the interview data that could not be explained by the preliminary model. The refined model revealed pathways by which five constructs of dispositional mindfulness (act with awareness, observe, describe, non-judge, non-react) buffered negative effects of minority stress on psychosocial health in young adults, and were qualitatively associated with compassion, acceptance of sexual minorities, and closeness among family members. Young adults reporting deficiencies in mindfulness reported greater suffering and negative coping related to minority stress. Our model provides a framework to explore modes of resilience and adaptation to minority stress, and offers a basis for further refinement in other affected populations.

The Applied Mindfulness Process Scale (AMPS): A process measure for evaluating mindfulness-based interventions.

OBJECTIVE: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) include the application of meditation and mind-body practices used to promote mindful awareness in daily life. Operationalizing the construct of mindfulness is important in order to determine mechanisms of therapeutic change elicited by mindfulness practice. In addition to existing state and trait measures of mindfulness, process measures are needed to assess the ways in which individuals apply mindfulness in the context of their practice. METHOD: This report details three independent studies (qualitative interview, N = 8; scale validation, N = 134; and replication study, N = 180) and the mixed qualitative-quantitative methodology used to develop and validate the Applied Mindfulness Process Scale (AMPS), a 15-item process measure designed to quantify how mindfulness practitioners actively use mindfulness to remediate psychological suffering in their daily lives. RESULTS: In Study 1, cognitive interviewing yielded a readily comprehensible and accessible scale of 15 items. In Study 2, exploratory factor analysis derived a potential three-factor solution: decentering, positive emotion regulation, and negative emotion regulation. In Study 3, confirmatory factor analysis verified better model fit with the three-factor structure over the one-factor structure. CONCLUSIONS: AMPS functions as a measure to quantify the application of mindfulness and processes of change in the context of MBIs and general mindfulness practice.

Shared health characteristics in Hispanic colorectal cancer patients and their primary social support person following primary diagnosis.

PURPOSE: The aim of this paper was to determine individual and shared levels of psychosocial, behavioral, and symptomological health characteristics among Hispanics with recent history of cancer and their primary social support person (PSSP) in the years following diagnosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Recruited from a population-based cohort study were 409 Hispanic patients with a previous diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Forty-seven patients identified a PSSP, who assists with medical decision-making and health-related matters, who also participated in the study. Current behavioral (smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, and complementary and alternative medicine use), psychosocial (stress and mindfulness), and physical symptom (fatigue) data were obtained using validated instruments. Analyses tested the individual and shared (between patients and PSSPs) variance in these health measures. RESULTS: The sample was diagnosed on average 3.1 years (standard deviation = 1.7) prior to assessment. PSSPs were mainly spouses/partners (63%) or children (28%) of patients. Among patients, stress was positively associated with being a current smoker (p < 0.01) and with fatigue (r = 0.45, p < 0.001); stress was negatively correlated with mindfulness (r = -0.41, p < 0.001); mindfulness was negatively associated with smoking (odds ratio (OR) = 0.72, p < 0.01) and alcohol consumption (OR = 0.83, p < 0.05); the inverse relationship between mindfulness and fatigue was partially mediated through lower levels of stress (ß = -0.17, p < 0.001). Similar patterns were observed among PSSPs. Patient mindfulness was negatively correlated with PSSP stress (r = -0.45, p < 0.01). Complementary and alternative medicine use showed interdependence between patients and PSSPs for use of herbal remedies (OR = 6.2; p < 0.01) and bodywork (OR = 8.3, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Hispanic colorectal cancer patients and their PSSP share a common health milieu in the years following a cancer diagnosis, offering opportunities for advancing interpersonal intervention approaches in cancer care. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.