Official Title
Evaluating the Impact of Community-Based Mindfulness and Musical Programs on Psychiatric Measures, Drum Circle Study 2c.
Brief Summary

Mental health vulnerability due to stress is increased America due to disproportionateeffects of social factors such as racism, poverty, education, and criminal justicesentencing. Various meditation and mindfulness approaches have provided evidence ofmeasured reductions in multiple negative dimensions of stress. However, the majority ofthese studies do not have an adequate representation of Persons of African Descent(PAD)or other marginalized groups and are not designed to be culturally relevant or communitybased. Music has been shown to alleviate multiple symptoms of stress and has been shownto be a preferred and effective support for meditation and mindfulness. However, its rolein stress management in PADs engaged in meditation or mindfulness is seldom studied. Thisstudy aims to evaluate the effects of a community-based music mindfulness program onstress management in PAD community members with anxiety and depression during COVID19.Component 2c. Drum Circle Study: Investigators will study the impact of participation indrum circles on anxiety and feelings of connectedness.

Detailed Description

The investigators also propose a study to investigate the effects of communal drumming in
reducing anxiety and increasing connectedness within drum circle community. Investigators
hypothesize that these intervention will lead to reductions in scores on stress scales
and will provide preliminary data for studies evaluating these types of community
programs as an adjunct to the standard of care.

Individuals who attend periodic (i.e. weekly) drum circles will be recruited to join an
8-week paradigm. Drum circle sessions may audio recorded and participants will be
informed of this during the consent process. Participants may be asked to undergo
Electroencepholography, functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy, and/or other physiological
measures before, during, and after the circles. Upon completion of the experiments,
participants will be asked to take part in a focus group that will provide valuable
feedback on their experience with the mindfulness intervention. Focus groups will last
30-minutes to 1 hour and will occur in-person.

Recruiting
Mental Health Issue
COVID-19

Behavioral: Communal Drumming

Communal drumming

Behavioral: Communal drumming recordings

Recordings of drumming taken from the music made during a previous component of the study

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

- ages 16 and older

Exclusion Criteria:

- ages 15 and younger

Eligibility Gender
All
Eligibility Age
Minimum: 16 Years ~ Maximum: 65 Years
Countries
United States
Locations

BLOOM
New Haven 4839366, Connecticut 4831725, United States

Musical Intervention Studios
New Haven 4839366, Connecticut 4831725, United States

Contacts

AZA Allsop, MD, PhD
240-422-3289
Aza.allsop@yale.edu

AZA Allsop, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator
Yale University

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
NCT Number
Keywords
Mindfulness
Meditation
music
MeSH Terms
COVID-19