BIO

Hello, my name is Alara. I am a second-year honors student from Istanbul, Turkey. I like to travel and see new places. I am also the co-founder of the social enterprise Entella company and love entrepreneurship. I’m interested in research areas including psychological and economical well-being and mental health. Additionally, I’m interested in environmental and social sustainability, and entrepreneurship. I love playing tennis and have been playing the piano for more than 10 years. In my free time, I also love to read personal development books and practice mindfulness.

Implicit Bias, Mindfulness, and Mental Health

Abstract

Implicit bias, the stereotypical perception toward someone or something,
negatively affects the mental wellbeing of marginalized groups which they struggle to
get help for because of institutional discrimination and bias. Mindfulness, the process
of being nonjudgmentally aware of the present moment, is helpful for mental health by
reducing rumination and anxiety and increasing self-esteem. Intervention studies also
found that mindfulness can reduce racism, prejudice, and discrimination as it increases
awareness of personal biases. Yet, there are few studies on how mindfulness affects
implicit bias to reduce its mental effects, especially in college students and in a wider
demographic. Moreover, the multitude of techniques used in intervention studies makes
it difficult to see how mindfulness affects implicit bias. Therefore, the purpose of this
literature review is to determine how implicit bias affects the mental health of
marginalized college students (e.g., Latinx, women of color, LGBTQ+) and how
mindfulness can be utilized to reduce implicit bias and its effects on mental health

Keywords: mindfulness, mental health, implicit bias, wellbeing