Abstract
The practice of meditation has been historically linked to beneficial effects, not only in terms of spirituality but also in terms of well-being, general improvement of psychophysiological conditions and quality of life. The present study aims to assess the beneficial effects of a short-term intervention (a combination of 12 practical 1-h sessions of meditation, called Integral Meditation, and lectures on neuroscience of meditation) on psychological indicators of well-being in subjects from the general population. We used a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design, in which all participants (n = 41, 17 men and 24 women, with a mean age of 41.1 years) underwent the same intervention. Out of these, 24 had already experienced meditation practice, but only 12 in a continuative way. Effects were assessed by the standardized Italian version of three self-report questionnaires: Core Outcome in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM), Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). The questionnaires were filled in at baseline and immediately after the last meditation session. Linear mixed effect models were used to evaluate pre-post treatment changes on each outcome. Participants showed a general, close to a statistically significant threshold, improvement in the total score of CORE-OM and its different domains. The total score of FFMQ (β = 0.154, p = 0.012) indicates a statistically significant increase in the level of mindfulness as well as in the domains acting with awareness (β = 0.212, p = 0.024), and non-judging of inner experiences (β = 0.384, p < 0.0001). Lastly, we observed a statistically significant improvement in the cognitive reappraisal ERQ domain (β = 0.541, p = 0.0003). Despite some limitations (i.e., small sample size, lack of a randomised control group and sole use of “soft” measurements, such as self-report questionnaires), this study offers promising results regarding the within-subject effectiveness of our intervention that includes a meditation practice on psychological indicators, thus providing interesting preliminary results.
Highlights
Meditation is an ancient practice which has its roots in India about 2,500 years ago and it has been perpetuated until today in various form and through different traditions
A great contribution to the spread of mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) was given by programs developed for specific populations or contexts, such Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
MBSR was developed for people with chronic health problems or suffering from the mounting demands associated with psychological and emotional stress (Kabat-Zinn, 1990, 2006; Kabat-Zinn and Hanh, 2009); MBCT is an approach to psychotherapy that was originally created as a relapse-prevention treatment for individuals with major depressive disorder (Segal et al, 2002; Kabat-Zinn and Hanh, 2009)
Summary
Meditation is an ancient practice which has its roots in India about 2,500 years ago and it has been perpetuated until today in various form and through different traditions. In the last few decades, meditation has gained consideration in the academic world, given the arising of scientific evidences regarding its beneficial effects on psychological, neurological, endocrine and immune variables, as well as positive influence on well-being and a broad range of biological processes (PaulLabrador et al, 2006; Rubik, 2011; Bai et al, 2015; Aherne et al, 2016; Chiesa et al, 2017; Wood et al, 2017) Thanks to this evidence, nowdays, meditation practice is frequently integrated in contemporary psychotherapy treatments and used to enhance well-being in several medical conditions and to improve quality of life. MBSR was developed for people with chronic health problems or suffering from the mounting demands associated with psychological and emotional stress (Kabat-Zinn, 1990, 2006; Kabat-Zinn and Hanh, 2009); MBCT is an approach to psychotherapy that was originally created as a relapse-prevention treatment for individuals with major depressive disorder (Segal et al, 2002; Kabat-Zinn and Hanh, 2009)
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