Validation of a Mindful Practice: The MELT Method®
Abstract
Stress is an epidemic that remains hard to understand and even harder to manage. Today stress affects adolescents more than adults, yet the impact of stress on their physical and mental health is not well-understood. A growing body of research points to mindfulness-based interventions and social-emotional learning as efficacious approaches to mitigating the harmful effects of stress and promoting well-being in youth. This study sought to investigate the MELT Method®, a simple self-care technique, using evidence-based research to determine MELT’s efficacy in stress-reduction and promoting social-emotional learning objectives. Nineteen female adolescents from a residential treatment center participated in an eight-week, 16 session MELT intervention. This quantitative pilot study utilized a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest treatment and control group design to assess the effectiveness of the MELT program. It was hypothesized that the practice of MELT would reduce perceived stress, somatic symptoms, and behavioral disruptions while increase coping, resilience, and mood for at-risk, suggesting improvement in the SEL domains of self-awareness and self-management. Youth completed surveys measuring their perceived stress, resilience, coping skills, and somatic symptoms before and after the MELT intervention. Physiological measures (blood pressure; heart rate variability) and mood were recorded before and after each MELT session. Data showed within-group improvements in perceived stress, somatic symptoms, and blood pressure. Trends towards improved mood and behavior were reported. Resilience increased in both groups while coping remained unchanged.
Subject Area
Education|Health education|Physiological psychology
Recommended Citation
Ruback, Sarah, "Validation of a Mindful Practice: The MELT Method®" (2020). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI27833940.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI27833940
