An evaluation of potential psychological barriers to meditation practice among university students
Jason E. Warnick
Journal of Clinical and Basic Psychosomatics March 31, 2026 DOI: 10.36922/jcbp026040006 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 90 |
| Population | University students |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mindfulness meditation Control management Clinical practice Clinical psychology Applied psychology Psychotherapist Perceived control Martial arts |
| Key points | Non-meditators reported significantly higher perceived low benefit, inadequate knowledge, and pragmatic barriers compared to meditators, and a majority of participants reported difficulty stopping unwanted thoughts, which correlated with punitive thought control strategies, critical inner speech, and lower thought control ability. |
Abstract
Meditation is widely promoted for psychological and physical health, yet research on barriers to its practice has focused primarily on pragmatic issues. This pilot study investigates psychological barriers, specifically meta-cognitive traits, to meditation practice among university students. Participants (N = 90; 80% female; 82.2% white; 70% upper-level students) completed questionnaires assessing barriers to meditation, thought control strategies, inner speech, and thought control ability. Independent samples t-tests and Pearson correlations were used for analysis. Non-meditators reported significantly higher perceived low benefit, inadequate knowledge, and pragmatic barriers compared to meditators. Notably, a majority of participants reported difficulty in stopping unwanted thoughts, which correlated with punitive thought control strategies, critical inner speech, and lower thought control ability. These findings suggest that meta-cognitive barriers may impede the adoption of meditation by many individuals. Hence, meditation programs should consider screening for thought control difficulties and provide targeted support. These results have implications for the implementation of meditation in educational and clinical settings and complement emerging research on potential adverse effects.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |