Meditation Effects on Anxiety and Resilience of Preadolescents and Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Study.
Alexandra Gomes, Joana Vieira Dos Santos, Luís Sérgio Vieira
Children (Basel, Switzerland) August 11, 2021 DOI: 10.3390/children8080689 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental, pre-test-post-test study with a control group Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Children and adolescents aged 9 to 16 years from schools implementing the Quiet Time Program |
| Intervention | Transcendental meditation |
| Duration | Twelve-week period |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Experimental design Resilience Transcendental meditation |
| Key findings | Transcendental meditation decreased externalizing behaviors in the experimental group compared to the control group, but did not reduce anxiety or improve resilience. |
Abstract
Meditation has been described as having a positive impact on well-being while reducing anxiety and stress among those who practice, mainly working as a resource to cope with everyday difficulties. As a simple and easy to apply meditation technique, transcendental meditation (TM) has shown promising results in adults and in children, although more studies are needed to show the impact on psychological and behavioral dimensions in children and adolescents. This quasi-experimental, pre-test-post-test study, with a control group, aimed to evaluate the impact of TM on the stress and resilience of children and adolescents, with ages between 9 and 16 years old. Participants were selected within schools which implemented the Quiet Time Program (QT), from those who volunteered to participate. They were randomly assigned to an experimental group (immediate TM learning) and to a control group (delayed TM learning). A repeated measures ANOVA showed an interaction of time and group on externalizing behavior, from the strengths and difficulties measure. The experimental group decreased on externalizing less adjusted behaviors, while the control group increased in this aspect, after a twelve-week period. TM failed to reduce anxiety and to contribute to resilience in the TM experimental group. Both groups improved anxiety indicators. The results might suggest students were acting upon their expectation of improvement on practicing TM or solely modifying their behavior along the contextual factors, which affected both groups equally.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A PILOT STUDY OF GROUP MINDFULNESS-BASED COGNITIVE THERAPY (MBCT) FOR COMBAT VETERANS WITH POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) Veterans with chronic combat posttraumatic stress disorder seeking treatment at a VA... | 2013 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual comparison group | n = 37 |
| Being present in the face of existential threat: The role of trait mindfulness in reducing defensive responses to mortality salience. | 2010 | Experimental study | |
| Neural correlates of mindfulness meditation-related anxiety relief Healthy adults with no prior meditation experience | 2013 | Within-subjects experimental study | n = 15 |
| Intensive mindfulness training-related changes in cognitive and emotional experience Community adults | 2009 | Quasi-experimental and longitudinal | n = 69 |
| Prospective examination of synthetic 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine inhalation: effects on salivary IL-6, cortisol levels, affect, and non-judgment Volunteers | 2019 | Within-subjects experimental study | n = 11 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 11
- Contemplative Education: A Systematic, Evidence-Based Review of the effect of Meditation Interventions in Schools Educational Psychology Review March 1, 2015
- Effects of the Transcendental Meditation Technique on Trait Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine October 9, 2013
- A Methodological Review of Meditation Research Frontiers in Psychiatry July 1, 2014
- Defining a complex intervention: The development of demarcation criteria for “meditation”. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality May 1, 2009
- Neurophysiological, cognitive-behavioral and neurochemical effects in practitioners of transcendental meditation - A literature review Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira May 1, 2019
and 6 more in the library