Daniel D. Adame

Effect of compassion meditation on neuroendocrine, innate immune and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress

Meditation practices may impact physiological pathways that are modulated by stress and relevant to disease. While much attention has been paid to meditation practices that emphasize calming the mind, improving focused attention, or developing mindfulness, less is known about meditation practices that foster compassion. Accordingly, the current study examined the effect of compassion meditation on innate immune, neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress and evaluated the degree to which engagement in meditation practice influenced stress reactivity. Sixty-one healthy adults were randomized to 6 weeks of training in compassion meditation (n=33) or participation in a health discussion control group (n=28) followed by exposure to a standardized laboratory stressor (Trier social stress test [TSST]). Physiologic and behavioral responses to the TSST were determined by repeated assessments of plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 and cortisol as well as total distress scores on the Profile of Mood States (POMS). No main effect of group assignment on TSST responses was found for IL-6, cortisol or POMS scores. However, within the meditation group, increased meditation practice was correlated with decreased TSST-induced IL-6 (r(p)=-0.46, p=0.008) and POMS distress scores (r(p)=-0.43, p=0.014). Moreover, individuals with meditation practice times above the median exhibited lower TSST-induced IL-6 and POMS distress scores compared to individuals below the median, who did not differ from controls. These data suggest that engagement in compassion meditation may reduce stress-induced immune and behavioral responses, although future studies are required to determine whether individuals who engage in compassion meditation techniques are more likely to exhibit reduced stress reactivity.

Innate immune, neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress do not predict subsequent compassion meditation practice time

Increasing data suggest that meditation impacts stress-related physiological processes relevant to health and disease. For example, our group recently reported that the practice of compassion meditation was associated with reduced innate immune (plasma interleukin [IL]-6) and subjective distress responses to a standardized laboratory psychosocial stressor (Trier Social Stress Test [TSST]). However, because we administered a TSST after, but not prior to, meditation training in our initial study, it remained possible that associations between practice time and TSST outcomes reflected the fact that participants with reduced stress responses prior to training were more able to practice compassion meditation, rather than that meditation practice reduced stress responses. To help resolve this ambiguity, we conducted the current study to evaluate whether innate immune, neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to a TSST conducted prior to compassion meditation training in an independent sample of 32 medically health young adults would predict subsequent amount of meditation practice time during a compassion meditation training protocol identical to the one used in our first study. No associations were found between responses to a TSST administered prior to compassion meditation training and subsequent amount of meditation practice, whether practice time was considered as a continuous variable or whether meditators were divided into high and low practice time groups based on a median split of mean number of practice sessions per week. These findings contrast strikingly with our original study, in which high and low practice time meditators demonstrated marked differences in IL-6 and distress responses to a TSST administered after meditation training. In addition to providing the first published data regarding stress responsivity as a potential predictor of subsequent ability/willingness to practice meditation, the current study strengthens findings from our initial work by supporting the conclusion that in individuals who actively engage in practicing the technique, compassion meditation may represent a viable strategy for reducing potentially deleterious physiological and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress.

Effect of Teaching with Mirrors on Body Image and Locus of Control in Women College Ballet Dancers

This preliminary study assessed the effect of mirrors in dance instruction on body image and locus of control of women college ballet dancers. With the same instructor in two beginning ballet classes 8 women were taught using mirrors and 13 women were taught without mirrors. Subjects completed the Cash 69-item Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, and the 40 item Adult Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale during the first and last classes of a 14-wk. semester. Body-areas Satisfaction increased for the nonmirror class yet decreased for the class taught with mirrors. For the nonmirror class, there were significant increases in Appearance Orientation and Externality. Analysis suggested that the use of a mirror in the teaching of ballet may be an element which contributes to the low body-image scores of the 21 women ballet dancers. Replication with a much larger sample is required to draw conclusions.

PHYSICAL FITNESS, BODY IMAGE, AND LOCUS OF CONTROL IN COLLEGE WOMEN DANCERS AND NONDANCERS

This study assessed the correlations among measures of physical fitness, body image and locus of control in college freshman women dancers and nondancers. 39 students enrolled in courses in modern, ballet, and jazz dance, and 120 students enrolled in an introductory personal health course were administered the Hall Physical Fitness Test Profile, the Winstead and Cash 54-item short-form Body Self-relations Questionnaire (BSRQ), and the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale. Analysis showed dancers were more physically fit, scored more positively on the BSRQ physical fitness and health domains, and were more internal in their locus of control than the nondancers. There was no significant difference between dancers and nondancers on the BSRQ appearance domain. The significant positive correlation between BSRQ health and physical fitness among dancers was not observed among nondancers. The significant positive correlation for BSRQ appearance and health was noted for nondancers but not for dancers.

EFFECT OF TEACHING WITH MIRRORS ON BALLET DANCE PERFORMANCE

This study assessed the effect of mirrors on the dance performance of beginning college ballet students in the classroom setting, using an evaluation methodology developed for this study. 13 women enrolled in one ballet class were taught using mirrors, 14 women in a second beginning ballet class were taught without mirrors. Both classes were taught by the same instructor. All students were videotaped performing the same adagio and grand allegro phrase during Weeks 5 and 14 of the 14-wk. term. At the end of the semester two ballet teachers viewed the videotapes for both classes. One evaluator was the instructor, and the other was a blind reviewer who had no knowledge of which was the mirror and nonmirror class during the evaluation process. They were instructed to choose a score for each dancer with anchors of 1: low skill and 5: high skill for both the adagio and allegro phrases. High interrater reliability was noted for both the adagio and allegro phrase data. In the nonmirror class, there was a significant increase in adagio scores, but no significant increases in adagio and allegro scores for the mirror class. These results suggest that the use of the mirror in a ballet classroom may negatively affect skill acquisition of the dancer.

Dance Experiences Associated with Body-Image and Personality among College Students: A Comparison of Dancers and Nondancers:

This study assessed associations among measures of body-image and locus of control for 32 college students in dance classes and 26 students enrolled in a personal health class over a 16-wk. semester. Students took the Winstead and Cash 54-item short-form Body Self-relations Questionnaire and the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale. For locus of control there was a statistically significant main effect for time. Over-all, subjects scored as more internally oriented from pretest to posttest. However, there was a significant interaction; dancers scored more internally on locus of control at pretest than nondancers, but at posttest there were no significant differences between groups. For the Fitness Evaluation subscale of body-image there was a statistically significant interaction. Dancers had lower Fitness Evaluation scores at pretest than the nondancers but at posttest there were no significant differences between the groups. For Fitness Orientation there was a significant main effect for time. Subjects at pretest had higher Fitness Orientation scores than at posttest. For the Health Evaluation subscale of body-image there was a significant main effect for time. Over-all, subjects at pretest had higher Health Evaluation scores than at post-test.

Effects of Contraceptive Education on Adolescent Male Contraceptive Behavior and Attitudes

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between contraceptive education and adolescent male contraceptive behavior and attitudes. A limitation of the study is that a convenience sample of 6 high schools was used to collect data. A modified version of a questionnaire used by Kantner and Zelnik was pilot tested revised and administered to 801 high school males in the spring of 1987. Results showed that 88% had received some contraceptive education in school. 71% reported having had sexual intercourse and 54% remained sexually active. Of the currently active sexually males who were exposed to contraceptive education only 14% used no birth control method. There were no statistical differences among those who had varying degrees of contraceptive education and the use or nonuse of any of the contraceptive methods. The findings suggest that for this sample contraceptive education had no effect on contraceptive behavior but did affect contraceptive attitudes. (authors)

My body and its reflection: a case study of eight dance students and the mirror in the ballet classroom

This qualitative study investigated the impact of the mirror on a dancer’s body image. Two groups of students enrolled in beginner ballet classes were taught the same classroom material; one group was taught with mirrors, the other, without. At the end of the semester four students from each class were randomly selected to participate in a private interview. Students were asked questions alluding to their experience in the classroom either with or without the mirror. Most students felt that the mirror is a necessary tool to facilitate their technical growth in a ballet class. However, further analysis of the interviews suggested that the student dancers experienced body objectification as they compared their physical selves to the images they saw in the mirror. Opportunities to take advantage of their kinaesthetic sensations to stimulate technical growth were not always possible as their concentration was focused on the reflection of individual body parts in the mirror. Researchers concluded that the mirror in the dance classroom can be an instigator of poor body image.

Physical Fitness and Self-Reported Physical Exercise among College Men and Women in 1987 and 1997

The study examined the relations of self-reported physical activity levels and physical fitness scores for two samples of college students assessed in 1987 (n=261) and in 1997 (n=243). Significantly greater exercise was reported by the 1997 women than the 1987 women; amount of exercise reported by men did not differ. For both samples, greater exercise was associated with increased Fitness for women and men as assessed by the Hall 1986 Physical Fitness Test Profile, comprised of measures on body fat composition; grip strength; muscle endurance, flexibility, resting heart rate; systolic and diastolic blood pressures; and aerobic power. For the 1987 sample men were more fit than women. For the 1997 sample, women were more Fit than men. The 1997 women were more fit than the 1987 women; there was no difference on overall fitness measures of the two samples of men.

HIV Prevention Knowledge, Attitudes, and Sexual Practices of Asian College Students

Abstract While Asian Americans remain one of the ethnic groups least affected by AIDS, recent data suggests that this may be changing. The incidence of AIDS in the Asian community is increasing. The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and sexual practices of a sample of Asian college students. Data were collected from students enrolled at six colleges and universities in a southeastern metropolitan area (n = 2,044). For this analysis, respondents who reported that they were of Asian background and unmarried were included (n = 128). Twenty percent of the subsample (n = 26) indicated they had grown up outside the United States. Descriptive analyses were done by gender and country of early development (U.S. vs. foreign-reared). Results indicated that males were more sexually active, more likely to use condoms and had less positive attitudes toward abstinence than females. U.S.-reared students initiated intercourse at a younger age and had higher knowledge scores than foreign-reared...