Creating Space for Adolescents and Families With Lived Experience of Homelessness to Build Familial Empathy, Communication, and Emotional Regulation: A Qualitative Study of Facilitators of Implementation.

Youth experiencing homelessness are vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). Structural racism disproportionately entraps marginalized youth into CSE while simultaneously obscuring their identification as victims. Adaptation and tailoring of effective interventions to mitigate associated sequelae and inequities is warranted. Support To Reunite, Involve, and Value Each Other (STRIVE) is a strengths-based dyadic intervention with demonstrated efficacy in reducing delinquency, substance use, and high-risk sexual behaviors among marginalized adolescents experiencing homelessness. The adapted STRIVE+ was piloted to explore potential for reducing youth risk factors for CSE. The current article reports findings from interviews exploring participants' experiences with STRIVE+. Youth and caregivers reported increased empathy, communication, and emotional regulation post-STRIVE+ and found relevance and meaning through participating in the adapted intervention. Feasibility of recruitment, engagement, and retention of minoritized adolescents and their caregivers were also demonstrated. Findings warrant larger scale implementation trials of STRIVE+ among minoritized youth at highest risk for CSE. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 62(1), 27-35.].

Evaluating the Impact of an App-Delivered Mindfulness Meditation Program to Reduce Stress and Anxiety During Pregnancy: Pilot Longitudinal Study.

BACKGROUND: Stress and anxiety during pregnancy are extremely prevalent and are associated with numerous poor outcomes, among the most serious of which are increased rates of preterm birth and low birth weight infants. Research supports that while in-person mindfulness training is effective in reducing pregnancy stress and anxiety, there are barriers limiting accessibility. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to determine if mindfulness meditation training with the Headspace app is effective for stress and anxiety reduction during pregnancy. METHODS: A longitudinal, single-arm trial was implemented with 20 pregnant women who were instructed to practice meditation via the Headspace app twice per day during the month-long trial. Validated scales were used to measure participant's levels of stress and anxiety pre- and postintervention. Physiological measures reflective of stress (heart rate variability and sleep) were collected via the Oura Ring. RESULTS: Statistically significant reductions were found in self-reported levels of stress (P=.005), anxiety (P=.01), and pregnancy anxiety (P<.0001). Hierarchical linear modeling revealed a statistically significant reduction in the physiological data reflective of stress in 1 of 6 heart rate variability metrics, the low-frequency power band, which decreased by 13% (P=.006). A total of 65% of study participants (n=13) reported their sleep improved during the trial, and 95% (n=19) stated that learning mindfulness helped with other aspects of their lives. Participant retention was 100%, with 65% of participants (n=13) completing about two-thirds of the intervention, and 50% of participants (n=10) completing ≥95%. CONCLUSIONS: This study found evidence to support the Headspace app as an effective intervention to aid in stress and anxiety reduction during pregnancy.