Michaud Midley, Evans Maiya, Mendez Rebecca, Zapanta Jalena, Trochez Anthony, Mehta Kala M, Márquez-Magaña Leticia, Parangan-Smith Audrey
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA.
SF BUILD, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Integr Med Rep. 2024 Jul 31;3(1):102-110. doi: 10.1089/imr.2024.0009. eCollection 2024 Jul.
Students of color in the United States experience elevated stress across the entire spectrum of education, spanning from early stages of K-12 to the more advanced stages of postgraduate studies. This sustained state of chronic stress decreases learning and curtails opportunities, especially in science, technology, engineering, and math (ST EM) fields, where stress levels are considered exceptionally high. Mindfulness-based practices such as MBSR have a proven effective for stress reduction in college students. However, to date, mindfulness practices have yet to be designed to support the unique needs of minoritized students with intersectional identities (e.g., poor, English as second language learners, and sexual/gender minorities) that are stigmatized in ST EM.
This article describes the development of an online, eight-week modified mindfulness practice (MMP) for minoritized students adapted from traditional MBSR. The MMP was purposely designed to be culturally inclusive and anti-racist, with the goal to reduce stress in undergraduate students of color in ST EM.
In this pilot study, we assessed the impact of MMP using both biological and perceived stress measures. Specifically, cortisol was measured from donated biospecimen hair samples, the Perceived Stress Scale measured perceived stress, and key informant interviews were conducted to understand student stressors and coping strategies before and after the intervention.
While the observed decrease biological and perceived stress before and after the intervention was not statistically significant due to the small sample size of this pilot study, we see a dramatic positive change in student coping strategies.
This study highlights the importance of providing minoritized students with options for stress reduction that are relevant and accessible.
美国有色人种学生在从幼儿园到12年级的早期阶段到研究生学习的更高级阶段的整个教育过程中都承受着更大的压力。这种持续的慢性压力状态会降低学习效果并减少机会，尤其是在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域，这些领域的压力水平被认为异常高。基于正念的练习，如正念减压疗法（MBSR），已被证明对减轻大学生的压力有效。然而，迄今为止，正念练习尚未被设计用于满足在STEM领域受到污名化的具有交叉身份的少数族裔学生（例如贫困学生、英语非母语学习者以及性/性别少数群体）的独特需求。
本文描述了一种针对少数族裔学生的在线八周改良正念练习（MMP）的开发，该练习改编自传统的MBSR。MMP旨在具有文化包容性和反种族主义，目标是减轻STEM领域有色人种本科生的压力。
在这项试点研究中，我们使用生物和感知压力测量方法评估了MMP的影响。具体而言，从捐赠的生物样本头发样本中测量皮质醇，使用感知压力量表测量感知压力，并在干预前后进行关键 informant访谈以了解学生的压力源和应对策略。
由于这项试点研究的样本量较小，干预前后观察到的生物和感知压力的降低在统计学上并不显著，但我们看到学生的应对策略有了显著的积极变化。
本研究强调了为少数族裔学生提供相关且可获得的减压选择的重要性。
