Reducing Daily Stress Among Sexual and Gender Minorities

Underrepresented racial/ethnic sexual and gender minorities (SGM) aged 18-29 will be recruited via convenience sampling from social media websites (e.g. Facebook, Instagram) and listservs from NYU student groups and through LGBT community partners. Interested persons who screen eligible through the study's online eligibility screener will be asked to provide their phone number and/or email address to be contacted by a research assistant. An online meeting via Zoom will then be scheduled to confirm eligibility, provide additional information concerning study parameters. The online meeting will be between the research assistant and a single participant. The meeting will take between 10 to 15 minutes depending on the questions individuals may have. The meeting will be an informational assessment to assure that the individual can effectively use and have access to the materials used in the study, the online surveys/assessments, and interventions. After providing online informed consent through REDCap, the participant will be randomized into one of the 8 mindfulness conditions, complete a 30-minute baseline survey via REDCap, and be provided with training on study protocols. Participants will engage in the study of a 5-day period (starting after the baseline survey). Participants will engage in one of 8 interventions, depending on randomization, in which participants will engage with mindfulness activities each night for a total of 5 nights which is expected to take 10-20 minutes per day (the exception to this is the control condition who only receives an introduction to mindfulness on day 1). In addition, each night over the 5-day period, participants will be sent a REDCap survey to complete a "nightly diary" which will take about 5 minutes to complete. After completion of the 5-day protocol, participants will be scheduled for an online Zoom meeting where participants will engage in a 30-40 minute debrief interview and be renumerated. The Zoom meetings will be between a research assistant and a single participant. Lastly, in order to improve retention, RA's will perform check-in calls twice during the 5-day daily diary period. The interventions will be administered using the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST). The participants will be randomized to at least one of the 3 intervention components of Awareness, Purpose, and Connection for this optimization study, which make up the 8 conditions. Each of these components is known to be effective in reducing stress and promoting well-being among populations that experience a high rate of discrimination (e.g., SGM). The three components are administered via the Healthy Minds Program (HMP), which is a smartphone app-based mindfulness intervention developed through the research of Dr. Richard Davidson and his team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Healthy Minds in affiliation with the non-profit Healthy Minds Innovations (HMI). The app provides an average of 10-minute meditations that can be completed while sitting, walking, or exercising that focus on the modules of Awareness, Purpose, and Connection. Participants will log into the app and listen to the meditations that correspond to their selected randomization on each of the 5 days. The app's methodology aligns with constituents of psychological well-being that are trainable and measurable as evidenced by the Center for Healthy Minds: Awareness, Purpose, and Connection. The components are as follows: 1) Awareness through meditation promotes self-awareness, reducing the mind's ability to be distracted and instead be present at the moment. Awareness promotes well-being by bringing attention to the present moment, not allowing the mind to wander to negative thoughts that cause stress; 2) Purpose through meditation promotes mindfulness of one's thoughts and feelings in the present moment and encourages compassion with oneself and positive reappraisal; 3) Connection through meditation supports empathy, compassion, and kindness in daily activities. By shifting to this positive mindset, individuals are able to cultivate social support networks which research has found to decrease the risk for depression.