The search for scientific meaning in mindfulness research: Insights from a scoping review.
Nhat Tram Phan-Le, Linda Brennan, Lukas Parker
PLoS One May 4, 2022 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264924 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Published mindfulness studies from 2015 to 2021 |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Research design |
| Key findings | The authors argue that divergent and conflated meanings of 'mindfulness' are limiting interdisciplinary research. Their scoping review found three shared classification domains (short-term effects, long-term effects, and practices), while content mapping of studies from 2015 to 2021 found four research domains (mental health, behavioural change, cognitive neuroscience, and ethical mindfulness). Operational definitions are not clearly articulated, and the 'ethical mindfulness' domain lacks developed conceptual and operational definitions. |
Abstract
There are on-going debates about what is and is not 'mindfulness'. These debates are stifling rigorous academic research as scientific precision is a precursor to shared meaning. While mindfulness is a growing field of research, these divergent and conflated meanings are limiting deeper interdisciplinary research. Interventions designed in one practice context may not be useful in other contexts because meaning is not transferred between settings. This review clarifies the various research domains that study mindfulness and the conceptual and operational definitions in each domain. This two-stage study comprises a scoping review of mindfulness classifications and a comparative content mapping of mindfulness studies from 2015 to 2021. The initial comprehensive search strategy followed the preferred reporting items for scoping reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) method. The comparative analysis was conducted using Leximancer. Findings illustrate a complex growing research corpus on mindfulness that is somewhat confused. The results from the scoping review show three shared domains in mindfulness classifications: short-term effects of mindfulness, long-term effects of mindfulness, and mindfulness practices. The results from the content mapping show four domains of mindfulness research: mental health, behavioural change, cognitive neuroscience, and ethical mindfulness. Operational definitions of mindfulness are not articulated clearly in these domains. Conceptual and operational definitions in the 'ethical mindfulness' domain are not yet developed. To enhance scientific progress in mindfulness research, further investigations of mindfulness classifications need to be developed. Content mapping and semantic typology is a potential candidate for future classification. More attention should be paid to developing operational definitions according to specific research domains. Scholars in the ethical mindfulness domain will need solid conceptual and operational definitions to support their research efforts.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 13
- The relationship between neuroticism as a personality trait and mindfulness skills: a scoping review Frontiers in Psychology November 15, 2024
- Mindfulness-based interventions: what more can the West learn from Buddhism? A fieldwork study. Frontiers in Psychology 2025
- The clinical neuroscience of lucid dreaming. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews January 14, 2025
- Mindfulness Teacher Trainees' Experiences (MTTE): An investigation of intense experiences in mindfulness-based interventions. PLoS One 2024
- Mindfulness and Objective Measures of Body Awareness: A Preregistered Systematic Review and Multilevel Meta-Analysis. Biopsychosocial science and medicine May 1, 2025
and 8 more in the library
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and 43 more in the library