Mindfulness, Health and Wellbeing: Broadening Interventions for Diverse Populations

• In Event: 390 - Section on Race, Gender and Class Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Race, Gender, Class and Health Part II

Abstract

Despite emergent findings on the utility of mindfulness for well-being (Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth, and Burney 1985, Goyal et al 2013), there is a significant gap in our understanding of how ethnic and racial minorities might benefit from mindfulness interventions (Graham 2013). While there have been efforts to address the underrepresentation of non-whites in research on mindfulness (Fuchs 2013, Woods-Giscombé 2010), the few studies that consider the effect of mindfulness on non-whites’ well-being are very recent, quantitative studies. In this paper, we aim to review and improve the field of mindfulness studies by focusing on the potential impact of such interventions for one minority community—black individuals in the United States. Further, we suggest how future research might generate much needed intersectional, qualitative insight into the efficacy of mindfulness interventions for diverse populations.

Authors

• Crystal Marie Fleming, State University of New York-Stony Brook

• Jalana Harris, State University of New York-Stony Brook