A Pilot Study of Mindfulness Skills to Reduce Stress among a Diverse Paraprofessional Workforce

Paraprofessional workforces are becoming more common and can serve the otherwise unmet needs of diverse children and families. Compared to other workforces, limited research to date has explored factors such as stress and burnout that influence the sustainability of this workforce. Mindfulness-based...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of child and family studies 2017-09, Vol.26 (9), p.2579-2588
Main Authors: Jacobs, Rachel H., Guo, Sisi, Kaundinya, Prabha, Lakind, Davielle, Klein, Jesse, Rusch, Dana, Walden, Angela, Mehta, Tara, Atkins, Marc
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Burnout
Child and School Psychology
Ethnicity
Fatigue
Intervention
Labor Force
Low Income
Low income groups
Meditation
Mindfulness
Original Paper
Paraprofessionals
Pilot projects
Psychology
Skill development
Sleep
Social Sciences
Sociology
Stress
Stress management
Sustainability
Well being
Workforce
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Summary:Paraprofessional workforces are becoming more common and can serve the otherwise unmet needs of diverse children and families. Compared to other workforces, limited research to date has explored factors such as stress and burnout that influence the sustainability of this workforce. Mindfulness-based interventions have been studied as stress-reduction programs for other workforces, but it is currently unknown whether mindfulness is acceptable to paraprofessionals, particularly those of a diverse ethnicity living in low-income, urban environments. The current investigation is a pilot study examining whether six weeks of mindfulness-based skills training can reduce stress, burnout, and improve sleep quality among a diverse paraprofessional workforce. Twenty six paraprofessionals (ages 24–58, M = 37.04, SD = 9.65) completed measures pre-training, post-training, and at a four week follow-up. Results indicated that this paraprofessional workforce found mindfulness practices acceptable and experienced significant reductions in perceived stress and emotional exhaustion, as well as improved sleep quality ( p  
ISSN:1062-1024
1573-2843
DOI:10.1007/s10826-017-0771-z