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Chapter 3 explores general strategies that are useful for teaching mindfulness to emerging adults. Traditional methods of teaching mindfulness and meditation are not always effective for engaging emerging adults. Often, students are enthusiastic about the idea of learning mindfulness, but they then have a hard time actually developing the skills in any meaningful way. This chapter looks at techniques that have proven useful for engaging the students in the study and practice of mindfulness. The strategies are divided into three categories: strategies related to the organization and structure of the class, strategies related to general teaching techniques, and strategies for dealing with typical student reactions. Each of these categories is fully explored, and examples of how to implement the various strategies are provided.

Chapter 2 explores in greater detail the characteristics of the developmental stage of emerging adulthood as well as highlights the usefulness of mindfulness and meditation for this age group. Emerging adulthood is defined by Jeffrey Arnett as a time of identity development in multiple important areas. The developmental stage of emerging adulthood is often expressed differently across racial and ethnic groups and socioeconomic classes. Emerging adults are seeking to answer questions about their direction in life and to discern what relationships and careers are best for them. Mindfulness is a useful tool for this quest as it aids emerging adults in identifying their authentic wishes and needs. The mindfulness-based stress-management tools also allow them to tolerate the stress that comes from all the uncertainties and pressures inherent in this time of development.

To evaluate the effectiveness of Koru, a mindfulness training program for college students and other emerging adults.Ninety students (66% female, 62% white, 71% graduate students) participated between Fall 2012 and Spring 2013.Randomized controlled trial. It was hypothesized that Koru, compared with a wait-list control group, would reduce perceived stress and sleep problems, and increase mindfulness, self-compassion, and gratitude.As hypothesized, results showed significant Group (Koru, Wait-List)×Time (Pre, Post) interactions for improvements in perceived stress (F[1, 76.40]=4.50, p=.037, d=.45), sleep problems (F [1, 79.49]=4.71, p=.033, d=.52), mindfulness (F [1, 79.09]=26.80, p.001, d=95), and self-compassion (F[1, 74.77]=18.08, p.001, d=.75). All significant effects were replicated in the wait-list group. Significant correlations were observed among changes in perceived stress, sleep problems, mindfulness, and self-compassion.Results support the effectiveness of the Koru program for emerging adults in the university setting.

The purpose of this research was to assess the frequency and severity of neuropsychiatric and behavioral symptoms and to examine the association between preexisting medical conditions and specific neuropsychiatric symptoms in demented individuals. We studied 211 demented subjects (87.7 percent male) who were participants in epidemiological studies of dementia. Using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), we assessed the frequency and severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms. We collected medical history information during a structured telephone interview. Our analyses focused on determining prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms by dementia diagnosis and severity. We also examined the association of history of head injury, alcohol abuse, and stroke with development of neuropsychiatric symptoms. We found that neuropsychiatric symptoms were common, with approximately three-fourths of the subjects exhibiting at least one symptom during the preceding month. Apathy (39.3 percent), agitation (31.8 percent), and aberrant motor behavior (31.1 percent) were the most frequent symptoms. Frequency and severity of symptoms were similar for the all-dementia and Alzheimer's disease–only groups. neuropsychiatric symptoms varied by severity of dementia, but generally not in a consistent ordinal pattern. History of alcohol abuse, head injury, or stroke was associated with presence of specific neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia. While psychiatric symptoms are common in dementia, they also vary by type and severity of dementia. The finding that certain medical conditions may increase risk for specific types of neuropsychiatric symptoms expands our knowledge of the natural history of dementia and should improve management of dementia in medically ill patients. Our results may also shed light on mechanisms that underlie neuropsychiatric symptoms.