Greater Mental Health Benefits Following Contemplative-Based Social Resilience Training Among Young Adults with Early-Life Adversity

Aaron M. Eisen, Philippe Goldin, Jyoti Mishra, Elena Fromer, Lucy Kho, Aric A. Prather, Elissa S Epel

Emerging evidence suggests that adults with a history of early life adversity (ELA), while more susceptible to psychopathology, may also be particularly sensitive to the benefits of contemplative practices. In the present study, we examined whether ELA was associated with greater mental health benefits following a contemplative-based social resilience training program, administered as a university elective course across all ten campuses of the University of California (n = 321; median age = 21 years; 74% female). While significant improvements in mental health were observed for all participants, those with higher ELA exhibited greater reductions in mental distress (3.5-fold larger, p = .007) and greater increases in well-being (2.5-fold larger, p = .010) relative to those with lower ELA. Replication in future studies and further research on the mechanisms underlying this enhanced benefit may improve our understanding of how adults with a history of ELA recover and may ultimately thrive.