Mind-Body Interventions to Reduce Risk for Health Disparities Related to Stress and Strength Among African American Women: The Potential of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Loving-Kindness, and the NTU Therapeutic Framework.
Cheryl L. Woods-Giscombé, Angela R Black
Complementary health practice review December 14, 2010 DOI: 10.1177/1533210110386776 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) NTU psychotherapy |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that for African American women, culturally influenced 'strength' norms can increase stress and lead to health-compromising behaviors, and proposes that MBSR, LKM, and NTU psychotherapy may address these factors to reduce health disparities. |
Abstract
In the current article, the authors examine the potential role of mind-body interventions for preventing or reducing health disparities in a specific group-African American women. The authors first discuss how health disparities affect this group, including empirical evidence regarding the influence of biopsychosocial processes (e.g., psychological stress and social context) on disparate health outcomes. They also detail how African American women's unique stress experiences as a result of distinct sociohistorical and cultural experiences related to race and gender potentially widen exposure to stressors and influence stress responses and coping behaviors. Using two independent, but related, frameworks (Superwoman Schema [SWS] and the Strong Black Woman Script [SBW-S]), they discuss how, for African American women, stress is affected by "strength" (vis-à-vis resilience, fortitude, and self-sufficiency) and the emergent health-compromising behaviors related to strength (e.g., emotional suppression, extraordinary caregiving, and self-care postponement). The authors then describe the potential utility of three mind-body interventions-mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), loving-kindness meditation (LKM), and NTU psychotherapy-for specifically targeting the stress-, strength-, and contextually related factors that are thought to influence disparate outcomes for African American women. Self-awareness, self-care, inter- and intrapersonal restorative healing and a redefinition of inner strength may manifest through developing a mindfulness practice to decrease stress-related responses; using LKM to cultivate compassion and forgiveness for self and others; and the balance of independence and interdependence as a grounding NTU principle for redefining strength. The authors conclude with a discussion of potential benefits for integrating key aspects of the interventions with recommendations for future research.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 22
- Mindfulness Meditation and Psychopathology Annual Review of Clinical Psychology December 11, 2018
- The Cultural Relevance of Mindfulness Meditation as a Health Intervention for African Americans Journal of Holistic Nursing January 17, 2014
- Meditation, mindfulness, and acceptance methods in psychotherapy: A systematic review Psychotherapy Research May 8, 2023
- Why mindfulness belongs in counseling psychology: A synergistic clinical and research agenda Counselling Psychology Quarterly April 10, 2017
- Using a Randomized Clinical Trial to Test the Efficacy of a Culturally Responsive Mobile Health Application in African Americans. Behavior Therapy July 1, 2024
and 17 more in the library
Cites 19
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology October 27, 2008
- Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise PLoS One March 25, 2008
- What Do We Really Know About Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction? Psychosomatic Medicine 2002
- Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. Emotion October 1, 2008
and 14 more in the library