"It's a Really Big Privilege to be Able to Take Care of Ourselves": A Mixed Methods Study of Integrating Mindfulness for Mental Health into a Job Training Program for Low-Income Emerging Adults.

Abstract

Background: Mental health of emerging, young adults remains a concern, particularly in lower income groups who receive less mental healthcare. Mindfulness-based interventions yield mental health benefits and have been widely applied, though reach and accessibility remain limited. Poor mental health can negatively impact job performance, physical health, and life trajectories.

Objective: A mindfulness elective was offered through a year-long job training program serving diverse, low-income emerging adults. We investigated relevant outcomes in a mixed methods quasi-experimental study.

Methods: Pre-/post-elective surveys assessed mindfulness, mental health, and well-being using established measures. We analyzed within- and between-group differences comparing mindfulness vs control (Year 1) and 12-week vs 6-week (Year 2) participants using t-tests and mixed effects models. Focus groups were conducted and analyzed using codebook thematic analysis.

Results: Participants (n = 212) provided evaluation data. Over two years, 195 participated in a mindfulness elective (mean age = 22.3 [SD = 2.7] years; 47.2% female, 94.4% from racially and ethnically minoritized groups). In Year 1, mindfulness participants exhibited many pre-to-post improvements, including greater mindfulness (+8.4, 95% CI: 5.8, 11.0) and life satisfaction (+10.3, 95% CI: 7.0, 13.6) and lower stress (-8.2, 95% CI: -10.4, -5.9); no changes in controls were observed. In Year 2, mindfulness participants improved in mindfulness and life satisfaction plus self-compassion (12-week: +0.6, 95% CI: 0.4, 0.8; 6-week: +0.4, 95% CI: 0.1, 0.6), connectedness (12-week: +0.7, 95% CI: 0.5, 0.9; 6-week: +0.4, 95% CI: 0.2, 0.6), and mind-body connection (12-week: +1.8, 95% CI: 1.2, 2.4; 6-week: +0.6, 95% CI: 0.0, 1.3). Additional benefits were observed (eg, in stress, focus, emotional reactivity) but significance varied by elective length. Focus groups were generally concordant with quantitative results. Respondents described how the elective enabled self-care, supporting health and professional development.

Conclusions: Integrating mindfulness into job training for underserved emerging adults was well-received, effective, and supports mental health equity.