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People across the country are experiencing significant levels of stress across most areas of life, including economic (jobs and inflation), health (epidemics), social and relationship issues, and international conflicts and political strife. People want to cope better but the amount of information available on stress management is staggering, confusing, and sometimes contradictory. Drawing from empirically supported intervention research that integrates biofeedback and psychotherapy approaches, three simple practices can help clients build stress resilience: balancing life demands with equanimity, becoming more aware but less worried, and actively engaging in flexible coping strategies. These three practices are straightforward to learn and easy to do as part of daily life. Although these approaches are typically administered individually in psychotherapeutic settings, there is significant potential in using a community approach to intervention. Most importantly, these techniques are proven, cheap, and have no side effects and can be easily administered using online website instruction and smartphone assessment technology.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is considered an index of self-regulatory capacity, and trait compassion predicts healthy HRV and self-regulation. Compassion focused psychotherapy interventions have been shown to increase levels of compassion in the general population but no studies to date have examined if these interventions also increase HRV in a distressed clinical sample. The present study examined whether a 12-week compassion focused therapy intervention administered in group format would improve resting HRV and impact HRV reactivity during self-critical writing and self-compassion writing tasks administered before and after the intervention. A total of 31 participants in a university counseling center completed the intervention and HRV assessments. Resting HRV did not significantly change over the course of the intervention in the overall sample. Only those who showed a reliable increase in self-compassion also had a significant increase in resting HRV post-intervention. Additionally, the self-critical writing task was associated with a significant decrease in HRV, with HRV staying low during self-compassionate writing and then significantly increasing during recovery. Reliable change in self-compassion predicted increased HRV reactivity to self-critical and self-compassion writing tasks following the intervention, indicating greater engagement with the task. Findings support the idea that increased self-compassion increases HRV reactivity and potentially strengthens ability to engage with difficult emotions in psychotherapy.

Stress influences many health-related behaviors including diet and nutrition intake, often resulting in increased calorie intake, fewer healthy eating behaviors, and poorer nutrition. Food intake is modulated by inhibitory control and has important implications for our physical, mental, and emotional health. Yet, little is known about the relationship between stress and food-related inhibitory control. We tested the influence of a short-term experimental stressor on behavioral and event-related potential (ERP; N2 and P3 components) measures of food-related inhibitory control. Ninety-seven healthy participants were randomly assigned to complete the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) (n = 48, 27 females [52.9%]) or a neutral control condition (n = 49, 35 females [70%]) immediately followed by food-specific go/no-go and neutral go/no-go tasks while electroencephalogram (EEG) data were recorded. Stress levels were successfully manipulated, with heightened self-report and physiological measures (heart rate and systolic blood pressure) of the stress response in individuals who completed the TSST compared to control. As expected, the high calorie food-specific go/no-go task elicited larger N2 amplitude than the neutral task. N2 component amplitude was also significantly larger following the TSST relative to the control task. There were no significant between-group or task differences for P3 amplitude or behavioral measures. Findings suggest heightened N2 amplitude following psychological stress that is not specific to food or inhibition processes and may reflect heightened arousal following stress. Future research in individuals with overweight/obesity or experiencing chronic stress will further clarify the role of stress in food-related inhibitory control.

IntroductionApproaches to improve heart rate variability and reduce stress such as breathing retraining are more frequently being integrated into psychotherapy but little research on their effectiveness has been done to date. Specifically, no studies to date have directly compared using a breathing pacer at 6 breaths per minute with compassion focused soothing rhythm breathing.Current StudyIn this randomized controlled experiment, 6 breaths per minute breathing using a pacer was compared with compassion focused soothing rhythm breathing, with a nature video being used as a control group condition.MethodsHeart rate variability (HRV) measures were assessed via electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiration belt, and an automated blood pressure machine was used to measure systolic diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate (HR). A total of 96 participants were randomized into the three conditions. Following a 5-min baseline, participants engaged in either 6 breath per minute breathing, soothing rhythm breathing, or watched a nature video for 10 min. To induce a stressful state, participants then wrote for 5 min about a time they felt intensely self-critical. Participants then wrote for 5 min about a time they felt self-compassionate, and the experiment ended with a 10-min recovery period.ResultsConditions did not significantly differ at baseline. Overall, HRV, as measured by standard deviation of NN intervals (SDNN), low frequency HRV (LF HRV), and LF/HF ratio, increased during the intervention period, decreased during self-critical writing, and then returned to baseline levels during the recovery period. High frequency HRV (HF HRV) was not impacted by any of the interventions. The participants in the 6 breath per minute pacer condition were unable to consistently breathe at that rate and averaged about 12 breaths per minute. Time by Condition analyses revealed that both the 6 breaths per minute pacer and soothing breathing rhythm conditions lead to significantly higher SDNN than the nature video condition during breathing practice but there were no significant differences between conditions in response to the self-critical and self-compassionate writing or recovery periods. The 6 breath per minute pacer condition demonstrated a higher LF HRV and LF/HF ratio than the soothing rhythm breathing condition, and both intervention conditions had a higher LF HRV and LF/HF ratio than the nature video.ConclusionsAlthough the 6 breath per minute pacer condition participants were not able to breath consistently at the low pace, both the participants attempting to breathe at 6 breaths per minute as well as those in the soothing rhythm breathing condition effectively increased HR variability as measured by SDNN, and attempting to breathe at 6 breaths per minute led to the highest LF HRV and LF/HF ratio. Both breathing approaches impacted HRV more than watching a relaxing nature video and can potentially be used as key adjuncts in psychotherapy to aid in regulating physiological functioning, although it appears that consistent breathing practice would be needed.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is considered an index of self-regulatory capacity, and trait compassion predicts healthy HRV and self-regulation. Compassion focused psychotherapy interventions have been shown to increase levels of compassion in the general population but no studies to date have examined if these interventions also increase HRV in a distressed clinical sample. The present study examined whether a 12-week compassion focused therapy intervention administered in group format would improve resting HRV and impact HRV reactivity during self-critical writing and self-compassion writing tasks administered before and after the intervention. A total of 31 participants in a university counseling center completed the intervention and HRV assessments. Resting HRV did not significantly change over the course of the intervention in the overall sample. Only those who showed a reliable increase in self-compassion also had a significant increase in resting HRV post-intervention. Additionally, the self-critical writing task was associated with a significant decrease in HRV, with HRV staying low during self-compassionate writing and then significantly increasing during recovery. Reliable change in self-compassion predicted increased HRV reactivity to self-critical and self-compassion writing tasks following the intervention, indicating greater engagement with the task. Findings support the idea that increased self-compassion increases HRV reactivity and potentially strengthens ability to engage with difficult emotions in psychotherapy.

Healthy stress is about healthy balance. When life becomes difficult, however, it is easy to get out of balance, either getting completely caught up in the stress and ignoring everything else in life or avoiding stress and pretending nothing is wrong which can allow difficult situations to get worse. Buddhist approaches of mindfulness and living the middle way teach us to engage with life stress in a healthy and balanced way. By learning to be mindful, we learn to be with our life experiences as they occur. By learning to live the middle way between over-engagement and avoidance, we learn to address our life difficulties in a healthy, balanced way. In this chapter, we begin by discussing the importance of coping effectively with stress, how the stress response works, and the importance of physiological balance, and then, we address mindfulness approaches to stress reduction, specifically mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

Anxiety is among the most frequently studied emotions in second language acquisition (SLA). Study abroad (SA) researchers have examined its effects on SLA in that setting in a number of studies. The current study goes beyond previous SA research by examining how anxiety develops and connects with language proficiency development over SA. Specifically, it uses anxiety-related measures of foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA), foreign language enjoyment (FLE), and a physiological manifestation of anxiety (hair cortisol). As far as the classroom is concerned, learners grew more comfortable, experiencing less anxiety and more enjoyment over the period of SA. However, learners showed physiological signs of overall elevated anxiety despite these increasing classroom comfort levels. Two key factors that may have influenced their anxiety levels abroad were tendency toward anxiety prior to SA and language proficiency upon departure for SA. The latter provides support for having students more proficient prior to SA, since doing so may lead to less anxiety during SA.

It is not wise to generalize psychophysiological findings from WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) samples to all people and yet this occurs frequently in research. Case-in-point is our understanding of psychophysiological responses to stress which suggest universality despite our knowledge that these pathways are moderated by factors such as ethnicity and culture. Here we discuss the epidemiological phenomenon commonly referred to as the Hispanic health paradox to illustrate the importance of culture in understanding stress. We posit that despite high stress exposure, Hispanics may experience relatively low levels of stress contributing to their paradoxical health advantages. Building on our prior work, we present a new, culturally-tailored stress theory model to illustrate how sociocultural factors may moderate the experience of stress (through appraisals) with downstream effects on psychophysiological mechanisms. We support the model with available data and end this paper with a call for research that more carefully considers cultural and ethnic factors in psychophysiological research.

Objective From a variety of perspectives, moderate self-views and behavioural patterns contribute to adaptive functioning. However, current conceptualisations and measurement of schemas take an exclusively unipolar, extreme approach to assessing schema domains primarily with highly negatively valenced content. The purpose of this study was to develop and examine a psychometrically sound and theoretically grounded measure that assesses moderate schemas and contrasts them with excessively high or low schemas using the Assessment of Schema Adaptability Profile (ASAP). Method A total of 233 participants (average age 36, 36% females, 70% white) completed the Adult Attachment Questionnaire and the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised to assess well-being as a validation instrument for the ASAP. The ASAP covers 10 schema dimensions (e.g., Entitled vs Unworthy) with items addressing overly positive, over negative, and moderate aspects of schema functioning. Results A single, moderate adaptive response pattern was evident across all profile domains. Those who endorsed excessively high or low responses loaded together and did not overlap with the moderate responders. Moderate responders reported increased well-being and positive attachment, whereas excessive responders reported decreased well-being and negative attachment. Conclusions Overall, the ASAP identifies and distinguishes between moderate and excessively high or low schemas and provides a unique, useful tool for conducting schema-based research.

Depression and anxiety are undertreated and represent a growing health crisis and economic burden. Current treatment approaches (medications, psychotherapy) appear insufficient to resolve these problems. Difficulties with current treatment approaches include cost, side effects, and stigma. Given that depression and anxiety share significant features and a common etiology in chronic stress, an effective approach to reduce depression and anxiety may be to reduce chronic stress. Chronic stress is on the rise, with more than one third of Americans reporting high levels of stress with which they feel they cannot adequately cope. Treating chronic stress at the population level has the potential to reduce the rising tide of depression and anxiety. Biofeedback and mindfulness are two interventions that demonstrably reduce stress and negative mood, are cost and time-effective, have no side effects, and have minimal stigma relative to medications and psychotherapy.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a significant marker of health outcomes with decreased HRV predicting increased disease risk. HRV is decreased in major depressive disorder (MDD) but existing treatments for depression do not return heart rate variability to normal levels even with successful treatment of depression. Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) increases heart rate variability but no studies to date have examined whether combining HRVB with psychotherapy improves outcome in MDD treatment. The present study used a randomized controlled design to compare the effects of HRVB combined with psychotherapy on MDD relative to a psychotherapy treatment as usual group and to a non-depressed control group. The HRVB + psychotherapy group showed a larger increase in HRV and a larger decrease in depressive symptoms relative to the other groups over a six-week period, whereas the psychotherapy group only did not improve HRV. Results support the supplementation of psychotherapy with HRVB in the treatment of MDD.

Mindfulness meditation is increasingly used in health interventions and may reduce stress and blood pressure. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of brief mindfulness meditation in reducing cardiovascular reactivity and recovery during a laboratory stressor. We randomly assigned 62 meditation-naive participants to a mindfulness meditation group or a matched non-mindful listening exercise control group. There were no differences between groups in blood pressure, demographic, or mood variables at baseline. Mindfulness participants showed lower systolic blood pressure following the mindfulness exercise and decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure reactivity during a speeded math stressor. Specifically, as the stressor progressed, blood pressure in the mindfulness group began to decrease, whereas in the control group, it continued to increase. There were no group differences during recovery. Overall, brief mindfulness meditation reduced cardiovascular reactivity to stress and may be an effective intervention for reducing stress-related blood pressure reactivity.

Religiosity is related to positive health and life satisfaction but the pathways through which this occurs have not been clearly delineated. The purpose of this study was to examine potential mediators of the relationships between intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity and negative affect and life satisfaction. Perfectionism and life aspirations are two possible pathways through which religious orientation is related to outcome. It was hypothesized that adaptive perfectionism and intrinsic life aspirations would act as mediators between intrinsic religiosity and negative affect and life satisfaction, and that maladaptive perfectionism and extrinsic life aspirations would act as mediators between the extrinsic religiosity and negative affect and life satisfaction. Two consecutive samples of religious college students (N = 540 and N = 485) completed measures of the Age Universal Religious Orientation Index, the Frost Multi-Dimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Aspiration Index, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Intrinsic religiosity had a direct negative relationship with negative affect and positive relationship with life satisfaction. Contrary to the hypotheses, intrinsic religiosity had its strongest indirect effect via maladaptive perfectionism such that increased intrinsic religiosity was related to decreased maladaptive perfectionism which in turn lead to better negative affect and life satisfaction. Extrinsic religiosity was related to increased maladaptive perfectionism and thereby indirectly contributed to worse negative affect and life satisfaction. Interestingly, when the effects of maladaptive perfectionism were controlled, the direct effects of extrinsic religiosity were related to reduced negative affect and increased life satisfaction. Overall, the strongest mediator in this study of both intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity was maladaptive perfectionism, with intrinsic religiosity related to decreased maladaptive perfectionism and extrinsic religiosity related to increased maladaptive perfectionism.

An experimental study to examine the effects of CardioWaves interval training (CWIT) and continuous training (CT) on resting blood pressure, resting heart rate, and mind-body wellness. Fifty-two normotensive (blood pressure 140/90 mmHg) participants were randomly assigned and equally divided between the CWIT and CT groups. Both groups participated in the assigned exercise protocol 30 minutes per day, four days per week for eight weeks. Resting blood pressure, resting heart rate, and mind-body wellness were measured pre- and post-intervention. A total of 47 participants (15 females and 32 males) were included in the analysis. The CWIT group had a non-significant trend of reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP) and increased diastolic blood pressure (DBP) while the CT group had a statistically significant decrease in awake SBP (p = 0.01) and total SBP (p = 0.01) and a non-significant decrease in DBP. With both groups combined, the female participants had a statistically significant decrease in awake SBP (p = 0.002), asleep SBP (p = 0.01), total SBP (p = 0.003), awake DBP (p = 0.02), and total DBP (p = 0.05). The male participants had an increase in SBP and DBP with total DBP showing a statistically significant increase (p = 0.05). Neither group had a consistent change in resting heart rate. Both groups showed improved mind-body wellness. CWIT and CT reduced resting blood pressure, with CT having a greater effect. Resting heart rate did not change in either group. Additionally, both CWIT and CT improved mind-body wellness.

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of religious affiliation on acculturation among Mexican immigrants to Utah. In addition to demographic information, measures of acculturation, spirituality, social support, and perceived social status were administered to 336 participants. Latter-day Saints compared with Catholics and those of other religious affiliation tended to score significantly higher on Anglo cultural orientation, spirituality, and social support. Latter-day Saint acculturation may have been partly due to greater interaction with the US culture prior to coming to this country. Latter-day Saints also rated their subjective social status higher. Overall, religious affiliation was the strongest predictor of Anglo cultural orientation except for age upon entering the United States. In conclusion, religious affiliation predicts level of acculturation. Membership in an organisation that is dominant in the local community (e.g., the Latter-day Saint Church) contributes to the accultura...

Menopause represents an important life change, particularly for religious women whose identity is significantly related to family. Two competing hypotheses are examined: one, because religious women have their identity focused on family and child rearing, spirituality will be related to increased menopausal symptoms because menopause represents a loss of identity and purpose; and two, because spirituality can provide strength and comfort during difficult times, it will, therefore, be related to decreased menopausal symptoms. To test these competing hypotheses, questionnaires were administered to 218 women (average age 55, 35% premenopausal, 26% peri-menopausal, 39% postmenopausal) who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Regression analyses indicated that higher levels of spiritual strength were related to decreased levels of reported menopausal symptoms. Spiritual strength was also related to increased benefit finding during menopause, decreased concern with body appearance, and increased use of adaptive coping strategies. We conclude that finding strength in spirituality may help religious women cope better with the life changes associated with menopause.

Objective: To determine whether the Social Role (SR) Scale of the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ) can predict work productivity. Methods: Employees at Utah State Hospital completed the OQ and the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Scale (WPAI) once monthly for four months. Results: The SR predicted the WPAI Presenteeism and Activity Impairment scales. Conclusions: The SR can be used to estimate work productivity using tools like the Productivity Calculator. Specific relationships among measures and suggestions for future research are discussed.

A social gradient has been consistently demonstrated in Western countries with higher socioeconomic status (SES) related to lower blood pressure (BP). In non-Western countries, however, the social gradient is not always evident, with some countries appearing to show a reversed social gradient. It was hypothesized that culture moderates the social gradient, with the relationship between SES and BP differing as a function of culture. To investigate the idea of a "cultural gradient" a sample of Hispanic immigrants and Whites was studied. A total of 79 participants (30 Hispanic immigrant, 49 White) wore ambulatory blood pressure monitors for 24 h. The Hispanic immigrants also completed the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans- II. Hispanic immigrants had lower SES and lower BP compared to Whites. A cultural gradient moderating the social gradient was evident with Hispanic immigrants displaying a positive relationship between SES and BP and Whites displaying a negative relationship. Among Hispanic immigrants, increased acculturation to Western culture decreased the positive relationship between SES and BP. Just as there is a social gradient with increasing socioeconomic status related to better cardiovascular health, there appears to be a cultural gradient with increasing acculturation to Western society related to worse cardiovascular health.

OBJECTIVE Hypertension is more prevalent in African Americans compared with Americans of European descent. Preliminary evidence indicates that perceived racism may play a role in elevated blood pressure in African Americans. The present study examined whether perceived racism was associated with higher ambulatory blood pressure measured during daily life. A potential contributing role for anger inhibition was also evaluated. METHODS Twenty-four-hour ABP was obtained from 69 African American men and women with normal or mildly elevated blood pressure. ABP was averaged over waking and sleep periods, and clinic BP was also assessed. Perceived racism and anger expression were measured using self-report questionnaires. RESULTS Greater perceived racism was related to higher ABP during waking hours for SBP (p

Accumulating evidence indicates that psychotherapy participants show increased physiological responsiveness to stress. The purpose of the present study was to examine differences between individuals participating in outpatient psychotherapy and matched controls using an experimental design. Forty-two psychotherapy participants and forty-eight matched controls were assessed on cardiovascular and cortisol functioning at baseline, during the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and during a twenty-minute recovery period. Psychotherapy participants and matched controls did not differ at baseline or during the TSST on the physiological measures but psychotherapy participants had higher cortisol and heart rate during the recovery period. In regards to reactivity, cortisol increased during the recovery period for the psychotherapy participants but decreased for those in the matched control group. Psychotherapy participants experiencing clinically significant levels of distress displayed elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate during the TSST when compared to psychotherapy participants not experiencing clinically significant levels of distress. Overall, physiological reactivity to stress appears to be an important issue for those in psychotherapy and directly addressing this issue may help improve psychotherapy outcomes.

The effects of religiosity on well-being appear to depend on religious orientation, with intrinsic orientation being related to positive outcomes and extrinsic orientation being related to neutral or negative outcomes. It is not clear, however, why intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity has the relationships they do. Self-determination theory may provide a useful framework of intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations that may help to answer this question. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity would be related to intrinsic and extrinsic life aspirations. We hypothesized that intrinsic religiosity would be positively related to intrinsic life aspirations and negatively related with extrinsic life aspirations, and that extrinsic religiosity would be positively related to extrinsic life aspirations and negatively related to intrinsic aspirations, and that life aspirations would partially mediate the relationships between religious orientation and outcome. To study these hypotheses, a random national sample (total number of 425, average age of 52, 59 % female) completed the measures of religious orientation, life aspirations, affect, and life satisfaction. It was found that intrinsic religiosity was positively related to positive affect, life satisfaction, and intrinsic life aspirations and was negatively related to negative affect and extrinsic life aspirations. Extrinsic religiosity was positively related to extrinsic life aspirations and was not related to the intrinsic life aspirations. When both religious orientation and life aspiration variables were included together in the model predicting outcome, both remained significant indicating that religious orientation and life aspirations are independent predictors of outcome. In conclusion, although religious orientation and life aspirations are significantly related to each other and to outcome, life aspirations did not mediate the effects of religious orientation. Therefore, self-determination theory does not appear to completely account for the effects of religious orientation.

STEFFEN. P. R.. A. SHERWOOD. E. C. D. GULLETTE. A. GEORGIADES. A. HINDERLITER, and J. A. BLUMENTHAL. Effects of exercise and weight loss on blood pressure during daily life. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc.. Vol. 33, No. 10, 2001, pp. 1635-1640. Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of exercise training and weight loss on blood pressure (BP) associated with physical activity and emotional stress during daily life. Methods: One hundred twelve participants with unmedicated high normal or stage I to stage 2 hypertension w%ere randomized to one of three conditions: a combined exercise and behavioral weight management group (WNI), an exercise-only group (EX). or a wait list control group (CON). BP was assessed in the clinic and during 15 h of daytime ambulatorv BP monitoring at baseline and after 6 months of treatment. Results: Increased levels of physical activity and emotional distress measured during daily life were associated with increases in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP). heart rate (HR). and rate pressure product (RPP). After treatment, the WM group had significantly lower DBP. HR. and RPP responses during both high and low levels of physical activity and emotional distress compared with the CON group. The EX group had similar BP levels as the WM group. although the EX group had significantly lower BP than the CON group during low but not high levels of physical activity and emotional distress. Conclusion: These findings indicate that exercise. especially when combined with weight loss. reduces BP levels at rest and in situations that typically elevate BP such as intense physical activity and emotional distress. Key Words: STRESS. AMBULATORY MONITORING, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE

Blunting of the normal drop in blood pressure (BP) from day to night is emerging as a strong prognostic indicator of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This study evaluated the effects of natural menopause on BP dipping in African American and white women. A total of 112 women (62 premenopausal and 50 postmenopausal) took part in the study. Pre- and postmenopausal groups were comparable in terms of clinic BP, body mass index, and ethnic composition. Ambulatory BP was recorded over 24 h during a typical workday, with measurements programmed to be taken every 15 min during waking hours and every 30-minutes during sleeping hours. Nocturnal BP dipping was defined as the difference between waking and sleep BP. Waking BP did not differ by menopausal status. However, nocturnal systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) dipping were attenuated in postmenopausal women, with both SBP (P < .05) and DBP (P < .05) higher during nighttime sleep in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women. Ethnicity was also related to BP dipping, with African American women tending to show blunted SBP dipping (P = .055) compared with white women; BP dipping was most blunted in postmenopausal African American women. These observations suggest that blunted nighttime BP dipping may contribute to increased cardiovascular disease risk in postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between religious coping, ethnicity, and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) measured during daily life. METHODS A 24-hour ABP was obtained from 155 men and women (78 African American and 77 white) on a typical workday. ABP was averaged over awake and sleep periods, and clinic BP was also assessed. Psychosocial measures of coping style, negative affect, social support, stress, and health behaviors were completed before ABP measurement. RESULTS Multiple regression analyses, controlling for demographic variables, revealed a significant religious coping by ethnicity interaction for ABP (p < .01) and clinic BP (p < .05). Religious coping was not related to BP among whites. Among African Americans, however, higher levels of religious coping were associated with lower awake (p < .05) and sleep (p < .01) ABP. Social support satisfaction also was related to lower awake ABP among African Americans, but it did not mediate the relationship between religious coping and ABP. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study extend previous findings by showing that, among African Americans, religious coping and BP are related during daily activities as well as in the clinic. Lower 24-hour BP load may be a pathway through which religiosity and cardiovascular health are related.

Meditation is associated with positive health behaviors and improved cognitive control. One mechanism for the relationship between meditation and cognitive control is changes in activity of the anterior cingulate cortex-mediated neural pathways. The error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) components of the scalp-recorded event-related potential (ERP) represent cingulate-mediated functions of performance monitoring that may be modulated by mindfulness meditation. We utilized a flanker task, an experimental design, and a brief mindfulness intervention in a sample of 55 healthy non-meditators (n = 28 randomly assigned to the mindfulness group and n = 27 randomly assigned to the control group) to examine autonomic nervous system functions as measured by blood pressure and indices of cognitive control as measured by response times, error rates, post-error slowing, and the ERN and Pe components of the ERP. Systolic blood pressure significantly differentiated groups following the mindfulness intervention and following the flanker task. There were non-significant differences between the mindfulness and control groups for response times, post-error slowing, and error rates on the flanker task. Amplitude and latency of the ERN did not differ between groups; however, amplitude of the Pe was significantly smaller in individuals in the mindfulness group than in the control group. Findings suggest that a brief mindfulness intervention is associated with reduced autonomic arousal and decreased amplitude of the Pe, an ERP associated with error awareness, attention, and motivational salience, but does not alter amplitude of the ERN or behavioral performance. Implications for brief mindfulness interventions and state versus trait affect theories of the ERN are discussed. Future research examining graded levels of mindfulness and tracking error awareness will clarify relationship between mindfulness and performance monitoring.

To investigate the possibility of a Hispanic mortality advantage, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published longitudinal literature reporting Hispanic individuals’ mortality from any cause compared with any other race/ethnicity. We searched MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, HealthSTAR, and PsycINFO for published literature from January 1990 to July 2010. Across 58 studies (4 615 747 participants), Hispanic populations had a 17.5% lower risk of mortality compared with other racial groups (odds ratio = 0.825; P These findings provided strong evidence of a Hispanic mortality advantage, with implications for conceptualizing and addressing racial/ethnic health disparities.

Objective: Mexican immigrants have lower cardiovascular disease risk than US citizens, but risk increases with level of acculturation. Our study investigated whether job stress and financial strain would be related to inflammation (C-reactive protein), lipids, and blood pressure, and if they would play a role in the acculturation process in Mexican immigrants. Method: A sample of 310 Mexican immigrants living in the United States were studied on measures of job stress, financial strain, acculturation, and cardiovascular disease risk factors (C-reactive protein, lipids, and blood pressure). Results: Job instability, financial strain, and acculturation, were related to inflammation, but psychological demands and decision latitude were not related. Lipids and clinic blood pressure were not related to the variables of interest. Body mass index was related to both increased acculturation and inflammation, and when controlling for BMI, acculturation was no longer a significant predictor of inflammation. Job instability and financial strain remained significant predictors of inflammation after controlling for BMI, gender, and age. Job instability and financial strain were not related to acculturation, suggesting that these factors are significant stressors for both newly arrived and more established immigrants.Conclusions: Job instability and financial strain predict increased inflammation in Mexican immigrants but they do not play a role in the relationship between acculturation and C-reactive protein. The effects of acculturation on inflammation in this study were mediated by BMI. Ethn Dis. 2016;26(1):37-44; doi: 10.18865/ed.26.1.37

This research involved the analysis of US individual and family changes during adolescence and their association with first intercourse. Events include divorce, remarriage, school drop out, labor force entry, initial use of drugs, and initial dating behavior. Control variables are race, gender, and socioeconomic status of the family. Data (all variables with the exception of marital status variables) were obtained from the third wave (1987) of the National Survey of Children, which has tracked a sample of children since 1976. Event history analysis of time-varying and fixed covariates revealed that the lowest odds of sexual intercourse were among adolescents aged 12 years whose parents were married; the greatest likelihood was found among adolescents with a widowed parent. The odds for adolescents with divorced or separated parents was 0.83. Adolescents with parents who never married had a 1.11 greater likelihood of first intercourse at the age of 12 years. The impact of age was found to be highly significant and interactive with other events. The odds of first intercourse increased with increasing age. The odds plateau through age 20 years and double at ages 21 and 22 years. Blacks were 1.2 times more likely to have sex than Whites. Age, race, and gender complicate the consequences of dating and dropping out of school. The log odds of having first intercourse decreased by 0.086 for every year of maternal education. Males were 1.4 times more likely to have sex than females. Models which included adolescent event variables showed decreased coefficients for some control variables such as age and increased significance for race. Divorce appeared to have a significant effect only if it occurred after the age of 12 years. Divorce as disruption of the household appears to determine the effect rather than a single parent household. School dropouts were 1.5 times more likely to have sex in the year they dropped out and to decline over time. Initiating sex also increased the odds of dropping out. The effect for Blacks and males is felt in the year following dropping out, while for Whites and females the effect occurs in the same year. Causal ordering for job entry was found difficult to specify. Use of marijuana was related to a 2.2 greater likelihood of sex in the same and subsequent years. Age at first date is highly predictive of first intercourse.

The study of religious orientation thus far has neglected the influence of race/ethnicity as well as all four religious orientations (intrinsic, extrinsic, pro-religious and nonreligious) in explaining differences in both physical and psychological health. A representative sample of 250 Hispanics and 236 non-Hispanic Whites in Utah was drawn and analysed for differences in health (self-rated health, life satisfaction, exercise) according to race/ethnicity, religious orientation and religious attendance. Responses to the Religious Orientation Scale differed significantly by race/ethnicity, indicating that future studies of religious orientation should take cultural context into account. For both Whites and Hispanics, pro-religious individuals reported the highest life satisfaction scores, which highlight the utility of employing the fourfold religious orientation typology.

Growing research has demonstrated a link between spiritual well-being and better health; however, little is known about possible physiological mechanisms. In a sample of highly religious healthy male and female adults (n = 100) ages 19–59 (m = 28.28) we examined the influence of spiritual well-being, as measured by the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp-Ex), on physiological risk factors for heart disease. Specifically we examined 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (BP), inflammation (hs-C-reactive protein), fasting glucose, and blood lipids. Regression analyses reveal that higher levels of spiritual-wellness (total FACIT-Sp-Ex score) was significantly related to lower systolic ambulatory BP (β = −.345; P

Objective To assess the prospective relationship between spiritual experiences and health in a sample of patients surviving an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with depression or low social support. Methods A subset of 503 patients participating in the enhancing recovery in coronary heart disease (ENRICHD) trial completed a Daily Spiritual Experiences (DSE) questionnaire within 28 days from the time of their AMI. The questionnaire assessed three spirituality variables-worship service/church attendance, prayer/meditation, and total DSE score. Patients also completed the Beck Depression Inventory to assess depressive symptoms and the ENRICHD Social Support Inventory to determine perceived social support. The sample was subsequently followed prospectively every 6 months for an average of 18 months to assess all-cause mortality and recurrent AMI. Results Of the 503 participants who completed the DSE questionnaire at the time of index AMI, 61 (12%) participants either died or sustained a recurrent MI during the follow-up period. After adjustment for gender, education level, ethnicity, and a composite medical prognosis risk score derived specifically for the ENRICHD trial, we observed no relationship between death or nonfatal AMI and total spirituality as measured by the DSE (p = .446), worship service attendance (p = .120), or frequency of prayer/meditation (p = .679). Conclusion We found little evidence that self-reported spirituality, frequency of church attendance, or frequency of prayer is associated with cardiac morbidity or all-cause mortality post AMI in patients with depression and/or low perceived support.

Objective: To investigate if diurnal cortisol variation is associated with nocturnal blood pressure (BP) dipping. Methods: In this study, 302 healthy adults (51% female; average age 31 years) underwent 24-hour ambulatory BP assessment with BP measured randomly approximately every 20 minutes during waking hours and every hour during sleep. Salivary cortisol was obtained at five time points. Cortisol and BP have natural diurnal variations and disruptions in these diurnal variations are related to pathological conditions, such as greater risk for cardiovascular disease. A lack of a drop in cortisol from day to night and a lack of a drop in BP from waking to sleeping have both been associated with negative outcomes. It is not known, however, if diurnal variations in cortisol and BP are related, or if changes in cortisol from day to night influence BP dipping. Results: Diurnal cortisol variation was a significant predictor of BP dipping. Controlling for gender, body mass index, age, phase of menstrual cycle, sleep quality, morning cortisol, and daytime measures of the relevant cardiovascular assessments did not significantly affect the results. Cortisol variation was found to have a stronger relationship with BP dipping than any of the covariates measured. Conclusion: Decreased diurnal variation in cortisol is associated with decreased diurnal variation in BP. Future studies could benefit from examining how these two variables interact in predicting disease outcomes.

Objective A number of studies have documented that acculturation to western society is related to an increase in blood pressure (BP). Although there is evidence that higher socioeconomic status appears related to better cardiovascular health, increasing acculturation to western society appears related to worse cardiovascular health. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate the association between acculturation and BP. Methods Literature searches yielded 125 relevant research manuscripts, which were coded by teams of two independent raters. This study was conducted in 2003 and 2004, and research databases such as MEDLINE and PsychINFO were searched through 2004. Measures of association (effect sizes) were extracted for both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) readings. Random effects models were used to analyze the resulting data. Results The overall effect sizes associated with acculturation were 0.28 for SBP and 0.30 for DBP, with increasing acculturation to western society related to higher BP. More acculturated individuals had an average of 4 mm Hg higher BP than less acculturated individuals, which is similar to the effect sizes of known risk factors for high BP such as diet and physical activity. The effects of acculturation on BP appear to be universal, with similar effect sizes found across all regions of the world. Change in BP due to acculturation was not related to body mass index (BMI) or cholesterol but was related to length of residence in the new culture, with the largest effect sizes seen on initial entry and then decreasing rapidly within the first few years. Sudden cultural changes, such as migration from rural to urban settings, resulted in the largest effect sizes, which finding supports the hypothesis that the stress of cultural change is important role in the acculturation effect. Conclusions Acculturation to western society is associated with higher BP, and the distress associated with cultural change appears to be more influential than changes in diet or physical activity. Future studies would benefit from investigating how cultural change affects health and examining whether some non-Western cultural values and practices are health protective.

To examine the effects of racism on sleep disturbance and depression and to examine whether sleep disturbance mediates the effects of racism on depression.Cross-sectional questionnaire study.Community.168 Hispanic-American immigrants, 45% female, average age 33 years, average length of time living in the United States was 5 years.The Perceived Racism Scale for Latinos, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) Scale.Using hierarchical linear regression analyses, perceived racism was related to increased sleep disturbance (b=.21, P.01) and higher levels of depressive symptoms (b=.24, P.01). When sleep disturbance was included in the regression equation, perceived racism was no longer a significant predictor of depressive symptoms (b=.10, nonsignificant), indicating that sleep disturbance mediated the relationship between perceived racism and depressive symptoms.This study adds to the research literature by identifying sleep disturbance as a potential pathway through which perceived racism may affect health.

Background: Religiosity has been related to positive health outcomes. Although this relationship is primarily based on studies of church attendance and health, more recent work has focused on the potential mechanisms that may mediate the religion-health findings. One principle that is taught by all of the world’s major religions is compassion.Purpose: It was hypothesized that one pathway through which religiosity may exert its positive influence on health is through encouraging compassionate attitudes and behaviors toward others.Methods: Two separate studies were conducted examining the relationships among intrinsic religiosity (IR), compassionate attitudes and behaviors, and measures of psychosocial health. Measures of psychosocial health included depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and social support.Results: IR was related to positive psychosocial outcomes in both studies, and compassionate attitudes and behaviors mediated these relationships. Compassionate attitudes showed significant relationships with psychosocial outcome measures (depressive symptoms, r = −.46, p < .0001; perceived stress, r = −.45, p < .0001; satisfaction with social support, r = .54, p < .0001; marital adjustment, r = .44) and accounted for most of the mediating effect. Although social support was also related to the variables of interest, its effect was smaller than that of compassionate attitude, and controlling for social support did not significantly add to the mediating effect of compassionate attitude.Conclusions: This study found compassionate attitude to be an important factor in the religion-health relationship and related to positive psychosocial outcomes, including reduced depressive symptoms and reduced perceived stress. Future research on religiosity and health may benefit from exploring the concept of a “;compassionate personality”; (i.e., a way of being in the world where others are treated with love and respect).

There is a marked diurnal variation in blood pressure (BP), with BP dipping to its lowest levels during nighttime sleep. A day-night dip in systolic BP (SBP) of