Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Low-Income, Predominantly African American Women With PTSD and a History of Intimate Partner Violence
M. Dutton, D. Bermúdez, A. Matas, Haseeb M. Majid, N. Myers
Cognitive and Behavioral Practice September 5, 2011 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpra.2011.08.003 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Low-income, predominantly African American women with a history of intimate partner violence and posttraumatic stress disorder |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) |
| Topics | Meditation PTSD |
| Key findings | Argues that MBSR is feasible and acceptable for this population, as most participants were initially interested and completed the program, and the intervention was congruent with their needs. Calls for replication with larger samples. |
Abstract
In this article, we consider the use of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) (Kabat-Zinn, 1991) as a community-based intervention to reduce health disparities for low-income, predominantly African American women with a history of intimate partner violence (IPV) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This article presents our rationale for using MBSR as an intervention with this population, the details of its implementation, and a discussion of the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention based on participants’ feedback and our observations. We conclude that the use of MBSR programs for low-income, predominantly African American women with PTSD and a history of IPV is both feasible (of initial interest to and completed by most participants) and acceptable (congruent with and relevant to their needs). Replication with larger samples and examination of mechanisms is warranted by these findings.