Date of Graduation

Fall 12-6-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College/School

School of Education

Department

Leadership Studies

Program

Organization & Leadership EdD

First Advisor

Dr. Genevieve Negrón-Gonzales

Second Advisor

Rhonda Magee, JD

Third Advisor

Dr. Seenae Chong

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Mindfulness Matters: Addressing Anxiety and Navigating Toward Wellbeing Through MIEA Mindfulness Practices, a Mixed-Methods Study of LGBTIQ Graduate Writing Students

Anxiety has always been a part of the human experience, even before the phenomenon was conceptualized in the 17th century and named by Freud in the 19th. And human beings have devised many strategies for addressing anxiety: reducing it, ignoring it, distracting oneself from it, despairing over it, medicating it, engaging with it, moving through it, co-existing with it. The current zeitgeist, more than four years into the COVID-19 global pandemic, situates anxiety as a central facet of most of our lives. Minoritized communities are particularly vulnerable to the destructive effects of anxiety, as they often have more stressors and fewer resources for addressing them than mainstream populations. One of the most effective approaches to anxiety is mindfulness, which takes many forms, from meditation and breathwork to vagus nerve stimulation and other somatic techniques.

In the context of higher education, the emerging field of Contemplative Studies seeks to identify ways in which contemplative pedagogy can lead to greater mindfulness and a reduction in anxiety. The graduate-level writing classroom is a potential locus of exploration of the challenges of anxiety, as it can be a space for self-reflection, conversation and growth, and the act of writing itself can be a powerful tool for investigating anxiety.

The purpose of this study is to better understand the experiences of one minoritized population—lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer/questioning (LGBTIQ) graduate writing students—in relation to anxiety, in and of itself, as well as their anxiety in the context of the academic-writing classroom, and to identify ways in which mindfulness practices might influence these experiences and possibly even mitigate anxiety. One primary tool the study employs is the practices and techniques of the Mindfulness Institute for Emerging Adults (MIEA), which were specifically designed for the emerging adult population (ages 19-29).

This mixed-methods study, which utilized participant interviews and two quantitative measures—the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Five-Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ)—included eight graduate writing students, all of whom identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning (including non-binary and gender non-conforming), and who ranged in age from 22 to 29. Using a constructivist grounded-theory approach, several themes emerged as co-constructed with participants: Fear (Emotional and Physical Safety, Action/Inaction, Relationships), Process (Academic and Personal Growth, Relationship to Time), and Problem-Solving (Skills, Confidence, Hope). The overarching theme that encompasses all, which was arrived at through a process of induction, was Navigating Toward Wellbeing.

The data collected in this study revealed the specific benefits of MIEA mindfulness practices for participants, including, most importantly, a reduction in anxiety for all during the period of the study, as well as increased confidence in participants’ ability to mitigate anxiety through the skills they learned during the study, both beyond and including their academic writing work.

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