Group Practice of the Transcendental Meditation® and TM-Sidhi® Program and Reductions in Infant Mortality and Drug-Related Death
Michael C. Dillbeck, Kenneth L. Cavanaugh
Sage Open January 1, 2017 DOI: 10.1177/2158244017697164 (opens in new tab)
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA group practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program was associated with reductions in infant mortality and drug-related fatalities in the larger population. From 2007 through 2010, infant mortality declined by an average of 3.12% per year and drug-related fatalities by 7.61% per year, beyond preexisting trends. The analysis controlled for seasonality and autocorrelation, and diagnostic tests suggest the results are not due to spurious regression. The authors propose that collective practice of this procedure reduces societal stress, though alternative explanations are considered.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Time series regression with broken-trend intervention model Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | US population (infant mortality and drug-related fatality rates) |
| Intervention | Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program |
| Duration | Intervention period from January 2007 through 2010; data from 2002 through 2010 |
| Key finding | Significant declines in infant mortality rate (3.12% per year) and drug-related fatality rate (7.61% per year) occurred during the intervention period (2007–2010), consistent with the predicted effect of group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program. |
Abstract
These two studies tested the prediction that the group practice of a procedure for the development of consciousness, the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program, by a sufficiently large group of individuals would be sufficient to reduce collective stress in the larger population, reflected in two stress-related health indicators, infant mortality rate and drug-related fatality rate. Based on theoretical prediction and prior research, from January 2007 through 2010 (intervention period), this effect should have been measurable. Change in the rates of these two indicators during the intervention period were estimated from 2002 through 2010 data using a broken-trend (or segmented trend) intervention model with time series regression methods. Significant changes in trend for both the infant mortality rate and drug-related fatality rate were evident at the predicted time and in the predicted direction, controlling for preintervention trends, seasonality, and autocorrelation. The changes in trend were both statistically and practically significant, indicating an average annual decline of 3.12% in infant mortality rate and 7.61% in drug-related fatality rate. Diagnostic tests are satisfactory and indicate that it is unlikely that the statistical results are attributable to spurious regression. The mechanism for these collective effects is discussed in view of possible alternative hypotheses.