DISASTER RELIEF FOR THE JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE-TSUNAMI OF 2011: STRESS REDUCTION THROUGH THE TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION® TECHNIQUE.
Mitsunobu Yoshimura, Etsuko Kurokawa, Takayuki Noda, Koji Hineno, Yasuo Tanaka, Yuji Kawai, Michael C. Dillbeck
Psychological Reports August 1, 2015 DOI: 10.2466/02.13.pr0.117c11z6 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPeople living in areas directly affected by the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami who learned the Transcendental Meditation technique reported a large decrease in stress symptoms (effect size = -1.09) compared to a no-treatment control group. The study compared 171 disaster-area residents with 326 non-disaster Tokyo participants who had previously learned the technique and a control group of 68 people. Symptom reductions were also seen on a measure of symptom intensity. The results suggest the technique may help relieve trauma after a disaster.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort with non-equivalent control group Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 565 |
| Population | Residents of Sendai and Ishinomaki, Japan, directly affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami; non-disaster Tokyo participants |
| Key finding | Disaster-area participants who learned the Transcendental Meditation technique showed a significant drop in total symptom score from pre-test to post-test compared to controls, with an effect size of -1.09. |
Abstract
This study examined changes in self-reported stress symptoms after instruction in the Transcendental Meditation(®) technique among 171 residents of two cities (Sendai and Ishinomaki) directly affected by the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster compared with 326 non-disaster Tokyo participants previously tested before and after learning the technique and a no-treatment control group (n = 68). The participants completed a rating checklist of mental and physical symptoms. Disaster area participants who learned the Transcendental Meditation(®) technique in contrast to controls showed a significant drop in total symptom score from pre-test to post-test (effect size = -1.09). Results were comparable for an ordinal measure of symptom intensity. The findings suggest the potential value of this procedure for relief from disaster trauma.