The Impact of Participation in A Mindfulness-Based Intervention On Posttraumatic Stress Symptomatology Among Black Women
Certain groups, including women, racial/ethnic minorities, and the socioeconomically disadvantaged, experience trauma and PTSD at higher rates than the U.S. national average. This study assessed whether participation in a mindfulness-based intervention delivered in a community health center decreased posttraumatic stress symptoms among socioeconomically disadvantaged Black women with trauma histories.
A total of 36 participants were recruited from a community health center in Chicago. The intervention was an eight-week program based on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. The participants completed self-report measures of trauma symptoms, mindfulness, depression, and stress before and after the intervention.
There was a significant reduction in trauma symptom severity from baseline to the end of the program, as well as decreased depression and trauma scores and increased mindfulness. A minority of participants endorsed slightly higher symptomatology at the end of the intervention. Women whose trauma symptom severity increased were less symptomatic overall at the beginning of the program. The authors concluded that socioeconomically disadvantaged Black women with moderate to severe trauma symptoms can benefit from a mindfulness-based intervention delivered in a community health care setting.
Waldron EM, Burnett-Zeigler, I. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy. 2022;14:29-37.
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