A Brief, Digital Music-Based Mindfulness Intervention for Black Americans With Elevated Race-Based Anxiety and Little-to-No Meditation Experience ("healing attempt"): Replication and Extension Study

BACKGROUND

Race-based anxiety is a critical health issue within the Black community. Mindfulness interventions hold promise for treating race-based anxiety in Black Americans; however, there are many barriers that prevent Black Americans from using these treatments, such as low cultural relevance, significant time burdens, and excessive costs.

OBJECTIVE

This study is a replication and extension of findings that "healing attempt"-a brief (<60-minute), digital, music-based mindfulness intervention-is a feasible and acceptable intervention for race-based anxiety in Black Americans. In this study, we tested this research question among those with little-to-no meditation experience.

METHODS

The participants were 4 Black American adults with elevated race-based trait anxiety and little-to-no meditation experience. We used a series of multiple-baseline single-case experiments and conducted study visits on Zoom (Zoom Video Communications) to assess whether the intervention can decrease state anxiety and increase mindfulness and self-compassion in Black Americans. We also assessed feasibility and acceptability using quantitative and qualitative scales.

RESULTS

In line with our hypotheses, "healing attempt" increased mindfulness/self-compassion (Tau-U range: 0.57-0.86; P<.001) and decreased state anxiety (Tau-U range: -0.93 to -0.66; P<.001), with high feasibility and acceptability (the average likelihood of recommending "healing attempt" was 88 out of 100).

CONCLUSIONS

"healing attempt" may represent a feasible intervention for race-based anxiety in Black Americans with elevated race-based anxiety and little or no mindfulness experience. Future between-subjects randomized feasibility trials can assess whether the intervention can give rise to lasting improvements in race-based anxiety, mindfulness, and self-compassion.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

OSF Registries osf.io/k5m93; https://osf.io/k5m93.

A Digital Music-Based Mindfulness Intervention for Black Americans With Elevated Race-Based Anxiety: A Multiple-Baseline Pilot Study

BACKGROUND

Race-based anxiety is a substantial health issue for the Black community. Although mindfulness interventions have demonstrated efficacy for alleviating anxiety, three central barriers prevent Black Americans from accessing existing mindfulness treatments: high costs, excessive time commitments, and limited cultural relevance. There is a need for novel mindfulness interventions for the Black community that can overcome these barriers.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this web-based study was to examine the preliminary efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of a novel digital music-based mindfulness intervention for middle-to-low-income Black Americans with elevated race-based anxiety.

METHODS

This study used a nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design (n=5). The intervention featured contributions from Lama Rod Owens (a world-renowned meditation teacher and LA Times best-selling author) and Terry Edmonds (the former chief speechwriter for President Bill Clinton). We examined the effect of the intervention on state anxiety and assessed its feasibility and acceptability using quantitative and qualitative measures.

RESULTS

Results revealed that administration of the intervention led to significant decreases in state anxiety (Tau-U range -0.75 to -0.38; P values<.001). Virtually all feasibility and acceptability metrics were high (ie, the average likelihood of recommending the intervention was 98 out of 100).

CONCLUSIONS

This study offers preliminary evidence that a digital music-based mindfulness intervention can decrease race-based anxiety in Black Americans. Future research is needed to replicate these results, test whether the intervention can elicit lasting changes in anxiety, assess mechanisms of change, and explore the efficacy of the intervention in real-world contexts.

Race-Related and Mental Health Factors of Powder Cocaine Use Among Black Incarcerated Men

Incarceration disproportionately impacts Black men in the United States, which can have compounding effects on mental health and substance use among this population. Cocaine use, in particular, carries higher severity of dependence and overdose risks among Black Americans, though research examining cocaine use correlates among Black incarcerated men is limited. The present study examines race-related and mental health correlates of powder cocaine use among a sample of incarcerated Black men (n = 208) using the General Strain Theory. Specifically, the present study was a secondary analysis examining race-related stress, psychological distress (i.e., anxiety and depression), and stigma about receiving psychological help as correlates of lifetime powder cocaine use. Results indicated that the likelihood of lifetime powder cocaine use was higher among those reporting lifetime psychological distress and greater race-related stress. Stigma about receiving psychological help was not significantly associated with lifetime powder cocaine use among this sample. Results of this study have important implications for substance use treatment interventions. Identifying adaptive coping strategies to manage anxiety and depression symptoms and race-related stress among incarcerated Black men may help reduce rates of cocaine use among this population and increase successful reintegration into the community post-incarceration.

Psychophysiological and affective reactivity to vicarious police violence

Little is known about how vicarious police violence, or instances of police violence observed but not directly experienced, impacts health among Black individuals. Using a lab-based paradigm in a sample of young adults (N = 101), this study examined: (a) psychophysiological reactivity to instances of vicarious police violence, particularly the assault and shooting of Black individuals; (b) affective reactivity to instances of vicarious police violence; and (c) how racial identity, one important moderator, influences psychophysiological and affective responses to vicarious police violence. Using electrocardiography and impedance cardiography, participants' cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic physiological responses were continuously monitored. Three sets of high-quality color photographs (neutral, non-violent distress, violence) were viewed on a computer. Participants rated their affect after each set using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Following this task, racial identity was assessed using the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity-Short Form. Findings indicated that vicarious police violence was associated with greater sympathetic reactivity and negative affect relative to the neutral and non-violent distress conditions. Additionally, higher levels of racial centrality exacerbated the association between vicarious police violence and negative affect. Findings suggest that Black individuals may wish to limit their consumption of media depicting the assault and shooting of other Black individuals, with the caveat that the best solution is ultimately the cessation of police violence.