Psychological Assessment
October 13, 2015
Simon B. Goldberg, Joseph Wielgosz, Cortland J. Dahl et al.
180 citations
A randomized trial with 130 participants tested whether the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) validly measures dispositional mindfulness. The study included three groups: mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), an active control condition (Health Enhancement Program, HEP) that did not teach mindfulness meditation, and a waitlist control. At baseline, FFMQ facets correlated with measures of psychological symptoms and well-being, providing partial evidence for convergent validity. FFMQ scores increased for MBSR relative to the waitlist, but they also increased for HEP relative to the waitlist, and MBSR and HEP did not differ from each other. The FFMQ thus failed to show discriminant validity, raising questions about its ability to specifically measure mindfulness.
Perspectives on Psychological Science
October 10, 2017
Richard J. Davidson, Cortland J. Dahl
123 citations
This commentary agrees with Van Dam et al.'s critique of mindfulness research but adds five omitted points: many methodological issues are not unique to mindfulness studies; modern research focuses narrowly on one or two contemplative practices, ignoring other potentially impactful forms; mindfulness was not originally developed to treat disease; key practical questions about practice duration, intensity, spacing, and whether formal meditation is necessary or can be integrated into daily activities remain understudied; and mobile technology will be essential for standardizing training, addressing individual differences, and conducting large-scale studies.
JMIR Mental Health
November 27, 2020
Simon B. Goldberg, Ted Imhoff‐Smith, Daniel M. Bolt et al.
104 citations
An eight-week randomized controlled trial tested two versions of a self-guided smartphone-based meditation app, the Healthy Minds Program, against a waitlist control. One version combined mindfulness with practices for positive relationships; the other combined mindfulness with insight into the self. Among 343 randomized adults without extensive meditation experience, both app conditions led to larger improvements in psychological distress, social connectedness, and mindfulness compared to the control group, with effect sizes ranging from small to moderate. The two app versions did not differ from each other. Improvements in distress were linked to days of app use. The study provides initial evidence that the app can reduce distress and enhance well-being.
Assessment
May 18, 2021
Simon B. Goldberg, Scott A. Baldwin, Kevin M. Riordan et al.
73 citations
A six-item Digital Working Alliance Inventory (DWAI) measuring the working alliance in unguided smartphone-based interventions shows good psychometric properties. In a cross-sectional survey of 290 meditation app users and the intervention arm of a randomized trial with 314 participants, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a single-factor structure. The DWAI demonstrated adequate internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and discriminant validity (no association with social desirability, psychological distress, or preference for a waitlist condition). Convergent validity was supported by positive associations with perceived app effectiveness and preference for an app condition. DWAI scores positively predicted self-reported and objective app utilization. When assessed at Weeks 3 or 4, but not earlier, DWAI scores predicted pre-post reductions in psychological distress.
Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
March 1, 2025
Simon B. Goldberg, Ashley D Kendall, Matthew J. Hirshberg et al.
15 citations
In a randomized controlled trial of a meditation app with 662 participants (80.4% had elevated depression or anxiety), the relationship between how much people used the app (dosage) and changes in psychological distress was inconsistent. Across 41 different statistical models, some showed that more use—measured in minutes, days, or activities completed—was linked to greater reductions in distress, but many models found no such link, and a few even suggested the opposite pattern. This variability highlights the challenge of defining and studying dosage in meditation app interventions and points to the need for careful, transparent methods in this area.
Journal of Counseling Psychology
March 1, 2024
Kevin M. Riordan, Otto Simonsson, Corrina Frye et al.
12 citations
A two-week compassion-based meditation program delivered via the Healthy Minds Program app was tested in undergraduates with elevated depression or anxiety (N=351). Participants were randomly assigned to either one 20-minute meditation per day or two 10-minute meditations per day. Both groups showed improvements in psychological distress, experiential avoidance, fear of missing out, loneliness, and self-compassion from before to after the intervention, and daily distress and loneliness also improved over time. No significant differences were found between the two dosing schedules on any measure. When total daily meditation time is equal, distributing practice into shorter sessions does not affect outcomes for distressed beginners.
Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
January 1, 2025
Matthew J. Hirshberg, Cortland J. Dahl, Daniel M. Bolt et al.
9 citations
A four-week smartphone-based meditation intervention reduced psychological distress in adults, most of whom had clinical anxiety or depressive symptoms during the early COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention improved four proposed mediators—mindful action, loneliness, cognitive defusion, and purpose—which together accounted for 21.9% to 62.5% of the effect on distress at three-month follow-up. In a multiple mediator analysis, reduced loneliness alone explained 61.7% of the combined indirect effect. The findings suggest multiple psychological pathways may mediate distress reduction in digital meditation-based interventions.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
August 1, 2024
Simon B. Goldberg, Daniel M. Bolt, Cortland J. Dahl et al.
5 citations
Meditation app users who reported increased positive feelings and decreased negative feelings during practice showed greater reductions in psychological distress, both immediately after the program and three months later. In a randomized trial with 243 distressed public school employees, most of whom had clinically elevated depression or anxiety, negative affect during meditation declined over time while positive affect remained stable. Changes in positive affect predicted later distress more strongly than changes in negative affect. The findings challenge the common mindfulness emphasis on nonjudgmental awareness regardless of emotional tone, suggesting that the affective quality of meditation experience matters for outcomes and could guide personalized intervention.
March 30, 2021
Matthew J. Hirshberg, Corrina Frye, Cortland J. Dahl et al.
5 citations
preprint
A four-week smartphone-based meditation app (Healthy Minds Program) reduced psychological distress and improved well-being among school system employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a randomized wait-list controlled trial with 662 participants (64% teachers), those assigned to the app showed significantly larger reductions in distress immediately after the intervention and at a three-month follow-up, with similar benefits on secondary outcomes such as perseverative thinking and social connection. The app was equally effective for participants with elevated baseline anxiety and depressive symptoms, and no evidence of elevated adverse events was found. The program may offer a scalable approach to supporting educator mental health.
August 1, 2023
Matthew J. Hirshberg, Cortland J. Dahl, Daniel M. Bolt et al.
3 citations
preprint
A four-week smartphone-based meditation intervention reduced psychological distress during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Among 662 adults, most of whom reported clinical levels of anxiety or depressive symptoms, the intervention improved four proposed mediators—mindful action, loneliness, cognitive defusion, and purpose—measured five times during the program and at three-month follow-up. Each mediator individually accounted for 22.2% to 64.5% of the intervention's effect on later distress. When all mediators were analyzed together, only reduced loneliness remained a significant pathway, explaining 70.0% of the combined indirect effect. Multiple psychological mechanisms likely contribute to the benefits of digital meditation interventions.
Psychological services
July 10, 2025
Rachel L. Dyer, Katherine M Zimmerman, Xinxuyang Zhao et al.
2 citations
Depression and anxiety have worsened among American adults in recent decades. Meditation apps could help reduce these symptoms, but many users struggle to keep using them. This study interviewed 20 adults with elevated depressive or anxiety symptoms who were part of a clinical trial testing a meditation app called the Healthy Minds Program. Using an implementation science framework called the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, the researchers identified four categories: practical factors that helped users build a meditation habit, motivations for starting and sticking with practice, obstacles to developing a practice, and suggestions for improving the app. Most participants reported positive outcomes, which for some motivated continued use. Future work should examine how barriers and facilitators shift as users gain more experience.
February 19, 2023
Kevin M. Riordan, Otto Simonsson, Corrina Frye et al.
2 citations
preprint
A two-week compassion-based meditation intervention delivered via the Healthy Minds Program app led to improvements in psychological distress, experiential avoidance, fear of missing out, loneliness, and self-compassion among undergraduates with clinically elevated depression and/or anxiety. Participants were randomized to either one 20-minute meditation per day (Massed condition) or two 10-minute meditations per day (Distributed condition). Both groups showed similar improvements, with no significant differences between conditions on any outcome. When total daily meditation time is held constant, distributing practice across the day does not appear to influence outcomes for distressed beginners, supporting flexibility in meditation scheduling.
February 10, 2023
Qiang Xie, Kevin M. Riordan, Scott A. Baldwin et al.
2 citations
preprint
Among clinically distressed adults with no meditation experience who used a smartphone-based loving-kindness and compassion training program for two weeks, those who increased their informal meditation practice (using techniques outside formal sessions) showed greater reductions in psychological distress and loneliness from before to after the intervention, though no changes in empathy or prosociality were observed. Daily analyses indicated that more informal practice on a given day predicted lower distress the next day, but not lower loneliness. Distress and loneliness did not predict subsequent informal practice. The findings suggest that informal practice may play a causal role in reducing distress, but further experimental studies are needed.
November 3, 2023
Qiang Xie, Rachel L. Dyer, Sin U Lam et al.
1 citation
preprint
Brief, informal meditation practices done during daily activities may help make meditation-based interventions more effective and accessible. Interviews with 17 participants after a 4-week smartphone meditation program revealed four themes: reported benefits, how they integrated practice into daily life, barriers to practice, and recommended facilitators. Barriers included lack of reminders and social support; facilitators included personalized app features and repeating intervention content. Addressing these factors could increase engagement with informal practice.
August 28, 2020
Simon B. Goldberg, Ted Imhoff‐Smith, Daniel M. Bolt et al.
A fully remote randomized controlled trial tested two versions of a self-guided smartphone-based meditation app, the Healthy Minds Program, against a waitlist control in 343 adults without extensive meditation experience. Both app conditions—one combining mindfulness with practices for positive relationships, the other combining mindfulness with insight into the self—produced larger improvements in psychological distress, social connectedness, mindfulness, and insight-related measures than the control group, with effect sizes ranging from -0.28 to 0.41. Improvements in distress were linked to days of app use. The two app conditions did not differ from each other on any outcome.
Current Opinion in Psychology
August 1, 2019
Cortland J. Dahl, R. Davidson
Mindfulness serves as a foundation for other contemplative practices, such as those aimed at developing prosocial qualities, cognitive insight, and a sense of meaning and purpose. The article discusses how different forms of meditation may contribute to well-being and highlights the role of worldview as a variable in mindfulness practice. It raises questions to guide future research on the relationships between mindfulness, other meditation practices, and well-being.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
July 28, 2015
Cortland J. Dahl, A. Lutz, R. Davidson
A novel classification system categorizes meditation styles into attentional, constructive, and deconstructive families based on their primary cognitive mechanisms. The authors propose that meta-awareness, perspective taking and cognitive reappraisal, and self-inquiry serve as key mechanisms within specific families, and that altering these processes may target experiential fusion, maladaptive self-schema, and cognitive reification. This framework integrates insights from scientific research on psychological processes related to the self with Buddhist and other contemplative traditions.