Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention in a Jail Drug Treatment Program.
Thomas Lyons, Veronica Y Womack, Wm Dustin Cantrell, Thomas Kenemore
Substance Use & Misuse 2019 DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2018.1491054 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 189 |
| Population | Incarcerated men in a jail substance use disorder treatment program |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based relapse prevention Communication skills intervention |
| Duration | 6 weekly sessions |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Correctional treatment Relapse prevention Yoga |
| Key findings | Mindfulness-based relapse prevention produced a small but significantly greater increase in mindfulness compared to a communication skills intervention. |
Abstract
More than half of prisoners in the United States are estimated to suffer from a substance use disorder. Mindfulness involves attention to the present moment, and nonjudgmental acceptance of sensations, thoughts, and emotional states. Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) following substance use disorder treatment has been shown to reduce substance use. We sought to adapt and test MBRP for a jail substance use disorder treatment setting. We enrolled successive cohorts of incarcerated men participating in a drug treatment program in a large urban jail (n = 189) into six weekly sessions of either MBRP or an comparison communication skills intervention, between 2013 and 2015. MBRP was delivered by a culturally competent African-American trainer. Pre- and post-test measures included mindfulness, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and drug craving. At baseline, measures of mindfulness were significantly inversely correlated with anxiety, PTSD symptoms and drug cravings. Anxiety, PTSD symptoms and cravings declined significantly in both treatment arms, and mindfulness increased. Comparison of the two study arms using maximum likelihood estimation suggested a small but significantly greater increase in mindfulness in the treatment arm. Conclusions/Importance. An attention control trial of a mindfulness intervention, delivered by a culturally competent trainer, is feasible in a jail setting.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Psychological Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry July 30, 2025
- Mindfulness-based relapse prevention targeting psychological craving and trait mindfulness in young Chinese women with methamphetamine dependence: a randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024
- Factors influencing the effects of the mindfulness-based interventions of patients with substance abuse: A qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis. Heliyon August 9, 2023
- Mindfulness-based interventions for substance use disorders. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews October 20, 2021
- Evaluating the Use of Mindfulness and Yoga Training on Forensic Inpatients: A Pilot Study. Frontiers in Psychiatry December 10, 2020
Cites 9
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- Mindfulness Meditation for Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review Substance Abuse October 1, 2009
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation in Prison International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology August 28, 2015
- Efficacy of 8- and 4-Session Mindfulness-Based Interventions in a Non-clinical Population: A Controlled Study Frontiers in Psychology August 8, 2017
- Prison Meditation Movements and Mass Incarceration. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology May 4, 2015
and 4 more in the library