Short mindfulness meditation training: does it really reduce perceived stress?
Barbara Horrillo Álvarez, Carolina Marín‐Martín, Manuel Rodríguez Abuín, Laura Orio Ortiz
Cognitive Processing September 21, 2022 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-022-01108-y (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 80 |
| Population | Volunteers from the general public recruited by email from university centers |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Duration | 8 weeks |
| Measures | Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Stress, psychological Attention Surveys and questionnaires Mindfulness meditation Stress reduction Attentive awareness |
| Key findings | Eight weeks of mindfulness meditation training increased participants' dispositional capacity to be attentive and aware of present-moment experience in everyday life compared with controls, but the authors report no significant between-group differences in perceived stress across social acceptance, overload, irritability/tension/fatigue, or energy and joy. The authors conclude that mindfulness meditation may increase attentive awareness without reducing perceived stress. |
Abstract
To study whether an 8-week mindfulness meditation training program truly reduces perceived stress without designing a stress reduction program. An experimental study was performed in which we studied the effects of 8 weeks of MM training on attention and awareness, as measured by the MAAS (mindfulness attention awareness scale) and perceived stress, as measured by the PSQ (perceived stress questionnaire), in 80 volunteers from the general public recruited by email from university centers. An increase in the individual's dispositional capacity to be attentive and aware of the experience of the present moment in everyday life was observed in the experimental group versus the control group; F (2, 156) = 14.30, p = .000, η2 partial = .155. Perceived stress showed no significant differences between groups in: social acceptance; F (2, 156) = 2.30, p = .103, overload; F (2, 156) = 2.32, p = .101, irritability, tension and fatigue; F (2, 156) = 2.27, p = .106, energy and joy; F (2, 156) = 2.79, p = .065. MM practice for 8 weeks of training increases the individual's dispositional capacity to be attentive and aware of the experience of the present moment in everyday life but may not reduce perceived stress.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- App-based mindfulness meditation reduces stress in novice meditators: a randomized controlled trial of headspace using ecological momentary assessment. Annals of Behavioral Medicine January 4, 2025
- Investigating the Efficacy of an Integrative Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI) in Indian College Students: An Eclectic Approach Combining Mindfulness meditation, Guided Imagery, and Gratitude Journaling Journal of College Student Mental Health June 5, 2025
Cites 21
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects Psychological Inquiry October 19, 2007
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Teaching self-care to caregivers: Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the mental health of therapists in training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology May 1, 2007
and 16 more in the library