# Optimizing a mindful intervention for urban minority youth via stress physiology

> **NIH NIH R61** · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE · 2021 · $504,713

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 The proposed R61/R33 phased study aims to elucidate the physiological stress mechanisms underlying
effects of a mindfulness program designed to target youth at risk for externalizing, affective and traumatic
stress disorders by virtue of significant environmental disadvantage. Adolescents for each phase will be
recruited from schools serving high poverty neighborhoods in Baltimore City where adversity and experiences
of trauma and maltreatment are common. The intervention is currently being implemented in a few Baltimore
City schools and other settings by the Holistic Life Foundation, Inc. (HLF), a non-profit organization with a
lengthy track record of providing mindfulness-based programming (breath work and meditation) to
impoverished youth. Both empirical and anecdotal reports of significant change in emotion regulation have
been reported with this intervention, yet similar to most mindfulness programs, mechanisms of effects have not
yet been delineated, particularly in disadvantaged youth.
 Our primary mechanism of interest is stress physiology, as measured by heart rate variability (HRV) and
skin conductance response (SCR) during acute stress, a central component of emotion regulation and
implicated in relevant clinical syndromes (e.g., externalizing behaviors, affective disorders).To identify the
characteristics of youth that predict intervention response (moderation) and the stress-related pathways
through which positive outcomes are achieved (mediation), we propose to conduct two RCTs with the ultimate
goal to maximally improve externalizing behaviors and affective and traumatic disorders in at-risk youth. In the
R61, we will intensively measure mechanistic effects of the mindfulness program to establish its effects in a
conceptually appropriate population. Students in 4 Baltimore City High Schools will be randomized to treatment
and active control conditions (N=160 students) and assessed at baseline, post-intervention and follow-up.
Stress physiological profiles that improve in response to intervention will be identified. In the R33, we will
conduct a larger RCT (8 schools, N=240) with assignment either to the mindfulness program or the
mindfulness program plus an enhancement—HRV biofeedback—shown to independently exert effects on
stress responses. Comparisons will be made between conditions and then a mediation model will be applied to
the intervention condition exhibiting maximal effects to determine whether positive change in stress physiology
explains improvements in outcomes. This sequence of studies will characterize participants who are maximally
impacted by mindfulness and will differentiate between treatment conditions, leading to more efficient and
effective targeting and scaling. In so doing, this research will break new ground in the rapidly growing field of
youth mindfulness-based interventions by identifying key physiological mechanisms of effect for common
mindfulness practices.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10475371
- **Project number:** 3R61AT009856-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** DIANA H FISHBEIN
- **Activity code:** R61 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $504,713
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-08-17 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10475371

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10475371, Optimizing a mindful intervention for urban minority youth via stress physiology (3R61AT009856-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10475371. Licensed CC0.

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