Significant reductions in posttraumatic stress symptoms in Congolese refugees within 10 days of Transcendental Meditation practice.
Brian Rees, Fred Travis, David Shapiro, Ruth Chant
Journal of Traumatic Stress February 1, 2014 DOI: 10.1002/jts.21883 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractAmong Congolese refugees with posttraumatic stress, learning Transcendental Meditation was followed by large reductions in PTSD symptoms within 10 days. Average scores on a standard PTSD checklist fell from 77.9 to 48.0 in 10 days, then further to 35.3 at 30 days. The effect size at 10 days was very large (d = 4.05). No adverse events occurred, and all 11 participants completed the study.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 11 |
| Population | Congolese refugees |
| Intervention | Transcendental Meditation |
| Duration | 10-day and 30-day follow-up after instruction |
| Key finding | Transcendental Meditation practice was associated with a 29.9-point drop in average PCL-C scores within 10 days and a further 12.7-point drop by 30 days. |
Abstract
This follow-up pilot study tested whether Transcendental Meditation® (TM) practice would significantly reduce symptoms of posttraumatic stress in Congolese refugees within 10 days after instruction. The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian (PCL-C) was administered to nonmatched waitlist controls from a previous study 3 times over a 90-day period. Within 8 days of the third baseline measure, 11 refugees were taught TM, then retested 10 days and 30 days after instruction. Average PCL-C scores dropped 29.9 points from 77.9 to 48.0 in 10 days, then dropped another 12.7 points to 35.3 at 30 days. Effect size at 10 days was high (d = 4.05). There were no adverse events. All participants completed the study and were able to practice TM.