Mindfulness and meditation: The effect of a wellness intervention with child focused human service workers

With stress levels high in the fields of social work and human services, particularly among those that work with children and their families, symptoms and problems that evolve from stress can impact the wellbeing of the worker, the agency, and their clients. Finding methods of self-care to help combat stress can help with the negative consequences. Evidence shows the practice of meditation can positively impact workplace stress. This study tested whether a single, 45-minute instruction in meditation lead to an increase in mindfulness, which then mediated perceived stress. Random assignment placed the 47 participants, recruited from two agencies, in either the control group, an intervention group that only received the meditation training, or an intervention group that received both the intervention and weekly meditation tip by text or email to serve as a reminder. Participants were advised to practice daily for 5 to 10 minutes. The data was collected longitudinally over eight weeks, through three self-reported, online surveys that employed a measure of mindfulness and a measure of stress among social workers who practice with children and families. At follow-up, the control group scored significantly lower than the intervention group on the mindfulness measure F(2, 41) = 4.87, p = 0.013 and significantly higher on the stress measure F(2, 41) = 5.69, p = .007. Although both groups had significantly higher mindfulness and lower stress, there was no statistical significance found between the two intervention groups on these measures. An ordinary least squares regression supported the mediation hypothesis. Paths from meditation to mindfulness and mindfulness to stress were significant. When testing the full mediation model, the direct path from meditation to stress became non-significant and the indirect path of meditation through the mediator, mindfulness, to stress became significant. A Sobel test of mediator significance showed a significant indirect effect. Because two agencies provided participants, a test of a cluster effect was assessed and found not to be a factor.The Ohio State UniversityNo embargoAcademic Major: Social Wor