Gwiyeon Jeong

A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of Buddhist meditation intervention programs

Journal of Meditation based Psychological Counseling April 30, 2026 Gwiyeon Jeong

A meta-analysis of 138 studies with 6,366 participants found that Buddhist meditation intervention programs have a small-to-medium positive effect on psychological health (overall effect size g = .250). MBSR/MBCT programs showed the largest effect (g = .766), followed by other mindfulness-based programs (g = .716) and yoga meditation (g = .726). Compassion meditation and counseling-therapy meditation did not reach statistical significance. Effects were most pronounced among children (g = 3.364) and adults (g = 1.360), and long-term programs exceeding 12 sessions showed the largest significant effect (g = .776). The programs enhanced self-compassion, mindfulness, life satisfaction, and problem-solving, while reducing depression, perceived stress, anxiety, and emotion dysregulation.