Effectiveness of Anapanasati Meditation on Internal Locus of Control, Psychological Well-being, Resilience and Altruism Among Orphan Adolescents.
Tintisha Basu, Pragyan Dangwal, Mahesh Deodar, Jitendra Chaurasiya
Annals of Neurosciences January 10, 2026 DOI: 10.1177/09727531251401777 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled trial with pre-post measures Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 108 |
| Population | Orphan and non-orphan adolescents aged 13-17 in Pune, Maharashtra |
| Intervention | Anapanasati meditation |
| Duration | Three-month intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Anapanasati meditation Adolescents Altruism Orphan Resilience |
| Key findings | Anapanasati meditation significantly improved internal locus of control, psychological well-being, resilience, and altruism among orphan adolescents from the second month of a three-month intervention. |
Abstract
Orphan adolescents face multiple vulnerabilities, including a lack of parental guidance, poor educational opportunities, socio-economic disadvantages and peer pressure, making them prone to unhealthy behaviours, risk-taking, anxiety and depression. Despite these challenges, they often exhibit resilience, though forming stable social bonds remains difficult. The use of Anapanasati meditation in orphanages is a low-cost, easy and convenient solution to facilitating holistic growth, encouraging positive psychosocial performance and enhancing internal locus of control. The objective of the current study was to find the effectiveness of Anapanasati meditation on the internal locus of control, psychological well-being, resilience and altruism among orphan adolescents. A sample of 108 adolescents (54 orphan and 54 non-orphan adolescents) comprising of equal number of male and female participants in the age group of 13-17 years was included in the study. Data was collected from orphan adolescents residing in institutions in Pune, Maharashtra. For the present study, t-test and Bonferroni and Holm's (post-hoc) were calculated. Cohen's d was also calculated to find the effect size of the intervention. There were significant changes in the experimental group compared to the control group. The three-month intervention was found to be effective from the second month onwards. The results of the current study indicate that meditation programmes can be practically applied in schools, orphanages and residential care facilities. Anapanasati meditation, which is relatively simple, economically and culturally non-intensive, seems particularly suitable in resource-restrained settings.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Effect of Anapanasati Meditation on Thought Patterns and Subjective Well-being Among Orphan Adolescents. Annals of Neurosciences April 2, 2025
- Aanapanasati Meditation and Stress Reduction Among Health Science University Students The Open Public Health Journal February 26, 2025
- Effect of anapanasati meditation on anxiety: a randomized control trial Annals of Neurosciences 2019
- Mindfulness-based interventions in schools—a systematic review and meta-analysis Frontiers in Psychology June 30, 2014
and 1 more in the library