In today’s world, there has been an inclined interest towards mental health and how mental health influences our quality of life. In some communities there is a lack of accessibility to alternative mental health resources to accompany care in vulnerable populations(e.g.,minorities, the CJ [criminal justice] population, women, children, domestic survivors, and anyone dealing with stress and/or trauma). A common obstacle is not understanding how to process emotional trauma and increasing unhealthy habits as a form of coping. A proposed solution is using mind-body exercises to treat situational and chronic disturbances and chronic stressors that could lead to trauma and post traumatic stress. Mind-body exercises consider a way to increase not only accessibility but offer a full body approach that ecompasses the benefits of mindfulness in engaging human anatomy. This intervention can help reduce the physical manifestations of dealing with stress. This includes weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes and risk of developing cardiovascular issues. This solution can be applied by increasing opportunities to engage in movement therapy and mind/body approaches. My study will examine previous research on styles such as TRE (tension and trauma releasing exercises) and yoga with the goal of creating an intervention using the benefits of aerial fitness. This study explores the use of aerial fitness in helping all people, especially trauma survivors in adopting healthy lifestyle changes in hopes of improving emotional health.

Past research shows that linguistic style can be indicative of psychological states. Kornfield et al. (2018) used text analysis in an online forum for recovering alcoholics, accurately identifying which users had the highest risk of relapse based on the linguistic style of their posts. The goal of the current study is to build upon Kornfield’s findings by capturing the linguistic differences across the three stages of recovery: early (1 month to 1 year), sustained (1 to 5 years), and stable (5+ years sober). We hypothesize there will be differences in the use of 1) cognitive mechanism words and achievement words, 2) negative affective words, 3) inhibition language, and 4) love language across the stages of recovery. We will collect publicly available data from 150 users in the subreddit r/stopdrinking, 50 for each stage of recovery. We will use Reddit’s API to collect each participant’s written posting history data within the past year. After data collection, we will use the Linguistics Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC2015) text analysis program to analyze language differences. We will analyze the data with a series of ANOVA tests, corrected for family-wise error. This study has several practical implications. Administering treatment interventions at the appropriate time can be crucial to lowering the risk of relapse. Self-report data is useful, but it is not always reliable. Language analysis could be a powerful tool for acquiring important unbiased information on people’s stage of recovery and allowing appropriate interventions to be targeted based on their recovery stage.

Kama muta is a distinct positive social relational emotion often associated with communal sharing (Zickfeld et al., 2019). Past research on interpersonal communication, one of the common forms of sharing (Berger, 2014), has suggested that high quality listening can improve the outcomes of sharing. Although high quality listening has been linked to other positive experiences (e.g., reductions in prejudice and social anxiety), its effects on kama muta have not been studied. Further, because research examining the effects of listening has primarily focused on the speaker’s perspective, the effects of listening quality on the listener remains unclear. Building on these findings, the current research examines the dyadic effects of listening quality on the experiences of kama muta for both the speaker and the listener. Participants will be randomly assigned the role of either a speaker or a listener in a discussion of a meaningful personal experience. Participants’ self-perceived listening quality and kama muta experiences will be measured. We hypothesize that higher perceived listening quality – that is, when speakers perceive to be listened to well, and when listeners perceive themselves to be attentive and responsive while listening – will lead to heightened kama muta experiences.

Present studies demonstrate resilience as a strong predictor of achievement. In Brazil, the Martial Art Capoeira was developed by enslaved people from Africa and practiced on plantations. In its early days, Capoeira was considered a crime and prohibited by the Brazilian Penal Code. Disguised as a dance, nowadays, it is celebrated for bringing a better sense of community while developing individuals both physically and psychologically. Previous research suggests that other than structural factors (ex: socioeconomic background), a student’s mental well-being may temper or exacerbate the effects of economic disadvantage on a systemic level. Furthermore, the low cost of investing in extracurricular programs, such as martial arts, can help system-impacted individuals by improving their physical and psychological wellness as well as strengthening their relationships within the community. The goal of the study is to look into how Afro-Brazilians who practiced Capoeira were able to overcome the stigma in their lives and how that model of resilience from this martial art can be applied in low-income communities around the world.