Psychological Effects of a 1-Month Meditation Retreat on Experienced Meditators: The Role of Non-attachment.

Jesus Montero-Marin,Paola Herrera-Mercadal,Marcelo Demarzo,Carmelo Vazquez,Fernando Rodríguez-Bornaetxea,Joaquim Soler,Ausias Cebolla,Marta Puebla-Guedea,Javier García-Campayo

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01935

Abstract

Background: There are few studies devoted to assessing the impact of meditation-intensive retreats on the well-being, positive psychology, and personality of experienced meditators. We aimed to assess whether a 1-month Vipassana retreat: (a) would increase mindfulness and well-being; (b) would increase prosocial personality traits; and (c) whether psychological changes would be mediated and/or moderated by non-attachment.Method: A controlled, non-randomized, pre-post-intervention trial was used. The intervention group was a convenience sample (n = 19) of experienced meditators who participated in a 1-month Vipassana meditation retreat. The control group (n = 19) comprised matched experienced meditators who did not take part in the retreat. During the retreat, the mean duration of daily practice was 8–9 h, the diet was vegetarian and silence was compulsory. The Experiences Questionnaire (EQ), Non-attachment Scale (NAS), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), Temperament Character Inventory Revised (TCI-R-67), Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Self-Other Four Immeasurables (SOFI) and the MINDSENS Composite Index were administered. ANCOVAs and linear regression models were used to assess pre-post changes and mediation/moderation effects.Results: Compared to controls, retreatants showed increases in non-attachment, observing, MINDSENS, positive-affect, balance-affect, and cooperativeness; and decreases in describing, negative-others, reward-dependence and self-directedness. Non-attachment had a mediating role in decentring, acting aware, non-reactivity, negative-affect, balance-affect and self-directedness; and a moderating role in describing and positive others, with both mediating and moderating effects on satisfaction with life.Conclusions: A 1-month Vipassana meditation retreat seems to yield improvements in mindfulness, well-being, and personality, even in experienced meditators. Non-attachment might facilitate psychological improvements of meditation, making it possible to overcome possible ceiling effects ascribed to non-intensive practices.

Highlights

Mindfulness is an umbrella term that can be understood to refer to the self-regulation of attention to one’s experiences in the present moment with curiosity, openness, and acceptance (Bishop, 2004)
Despite the relative lack of previous controlled studies on the effect of long-term meditation retreats on positive psychological variables, we aimed to explore whether a 1-month Vipassana retreat: (1) would increase mindfulness and psychological well-being; (2) would increase prosocial personality traits; and (3) psychological changes produced by meditation would be mediated and/or moderated by nonattachment
“non-attachment” had a moderating role in “describing” (Beta = −0.42; R2 = 0.13; p = 0.029), and “positive-others” (Beta = 0.55; R2 = 0.24; p = 0.003). It plays both a mediating and a moderating role in “satisfaction with life” [(mediating: Beta = 0.36; p = 0.023);; R2 = 0.39]. This is the first controlled study on the effect of a 1-month, intensive Vipassana meditation retreat on a wide array of psychological constructs related to mindfulness, psychological well-being and personality

Summary

Introduction

Mindfulness is an umbrella term that can be understood to refer to the self-regulation of attention to one’s experiences in the present moment with curiosity, openness, and acceptance (Bishop, 2004). Mindfulness practices can designate both contemporary approaches (such as mindfulness-based interventions) and traditional practices (such as Vipassana meditation), and they may modify many psychological and biological variables in clinical and non-clinical populations. These effects include reductions in stress (Demarzo, 2014; Sharma and Rush, 2014), cognitive rigidity (Greenberg et al, 2012), blood pressure and interleukin-6 (Tomfohr, 2015), and improvements in motor performance (Naranjo and Schmidt, 2012), quality of life (Demarzo, 2014), and emotional outcomes (Arch and Landy, 2015). We aimed to assess whether a 1-month Vipassana retreat: (a) would increase mindfulness and well-being; (b) would increase prosocial personality traits; and (c) whether psychological changes would be mediated and/or moderated by non-attachment

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion