A Comprehensive Descriptive Analysis of Out-of-Session Meditation in a Residential Treatment Setting: Duration, Frequency, and Type of Practice

People in a residential addiction treatment program who took part in a mindfulness-based intervention practiced meditation about once a day outside of scheduled sessions, with walking meditation being the longest practice (average 20 minutes during the program and 25 minutes at 7-month follow-up). The frequency and duration of meditation during the program predicted continued meditation 7 months later, suggesting that these learned behaviors persist during addiction recovery.

Study at a glance

Abstract

A nuanced examination of human behavior can yield valuable insights into whether a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) promotes meditation practices and to what degree in various populations. This study aimed to offer a comprehensive analysis of meditation behaviors exhibited by individuals in response to a MBI in the context of an intensive residential treatment program for addiction recovery. A total of 100 participants enrolled in a residential treatment program participated in an added MBI component to their routine care. We quantified the type, frequency, and duration of meditation practices outside of scheduled MBI sessions and conducted a descriptive analysis to investigate how these practices during the intervention predicted meditation behaviors 7 months later. All seven common types of mindfulness meditation assessed, except the body scan, were performed an average of once per day during the MBI. The longest average duration of meditation practice was observed in the case of walking meditation, during both the MBI (M=20.30, SD=16.66 min) and 7-month follow-up (M=25.43, SD=20.85 min). Out-of-session meditation frequency (unstandardized beta, B=0.56, p<0.001) and duration (B=0.45, p=0.02) during the MBI significantly predicted subsequent meditation behaviors 7 months later, even after adjusting for treatment site discharge status and other clinical variables. Most participants in this addiction recovery sample consistently engaged in a variety of meditation practices outside of formal MBI class sessions while in residential living, performing them approximately once a day, with a particularly robust response to walking meditation. The persistence of meditation practice 7 months later suggests that the learned behaviors endure throughout addiction recovery. This original trial is registered with clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02977988)