Effect of Anapanasati Meditation on Thought Patterns and Subjective Well-being Among Orphan Adolescents.
Tintisha Basu, Pragyan Dangwal, Mahesh Deokar
Annals of Neurosciences April 2, 2025 DOI: 10.1177/09727531251326381 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 54 |
| Population | Orphan adolescents from Pune, Maharashtra, India |
| Intervention | Anapanasati meditation |
| Duration | 3 months |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Anapanasati meditation Adolescents Emotional regulation Orphan Well-being |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Anapanasati meditation was associated with increases in emotional regulation, appraising others' emotions, sharing feelings with peers, and a promising future among orphan adolescents. |
Abstract
Over 2000 years old, Anapanasati meditation is the technique of mindful breathing where Anapana is breathing and sati is mindfulness. Anapanasati meditation focuses on training the mind to be sensitive to one or more of the entire body, rupture, pleasure and the mind itself-steadying, satisfying or releasing the mind (Satipathannasutta). Mindfulness can be enhanced with the extensive practice of mindfulness meditation. The study was conducted to see the effect of Anapanasati meditation on orphan adolescents. The total sample size comprised 54 orphan adolescents from the Indian city of Pune, Maharashtra. The population had an equal number of male and female participants. Anapanasati meditation was taught to the adolescents for 3 months. Content analysis was used to analyse the subjective experiences of the individuals over a period of 3 months after inter-coder reliability for the items. Appraisal of others' emotions, emotional regulation, sharing feelings with their peers and a promising future saw a maximum increase after Anapanasati meditation. This content analysis provides valuable insights into the impact of meditation on emotional experiences. While stability is observed in various emotional facets, there are nuanced changes that hint at the transformative potential of meditation, particularly in enhancing self-awareness and regulating negative emotions. These findings contribute to the growing body of knowledge on meditation's psychological effects and underscore the need for further research to explore the intricacies of emotional changes during and after meditation.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Effectiveness of Anapanasati Meditation on Internal Locus of Control, Psychological Well-being, Resilience and Altruism Among Orphan Adolescents. Annals of Neurosciences January 10, 2026
- From Buddhist meditation to psychological well-being: an ethical-cultural training ecology model Frontiers in Psychology September 3, 2026
Cites 4
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- Women Benefit More Than Men in Response to College-based Meditation Training. Frontiers in Psychology 2017
- Vipassana Meditation and Life Effectiveness Journal of Education and Vocational Research February 15, 2012
- An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation: theoretical considerations and preliminary results. General Hospital Psychiatry April 1, 1982