Effects of Mindfulness and Sufi Meditation on Anxiety and Mental Health of Females
Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research October 18, 2019 DOI: 10.33824/pjpr.2019.34.3.32 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractSufi meditation was more effective than Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction in lowering anxiety and enhancing mental health among 200 female participants. Participants were divided into high- and low-anxiety groups based on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, then randomly assigned to either mindfulness or Sufi meditation. Pre- and post-test measures showed that the mindfulness group scored significantly higher on anxiety than the Sufi meditation group. The authors suggest that Sufi meditation's effectiveness may stem from its alignment with the participants' belief system. The results provide a basis for future research combining both meditation types.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 200 |
| Population | Female population |
| Interventions | Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme Sufi Meditation |
| Keywords | Psychology |
| Key finding | Sufi meditation was more effective than mindfulness meditation in lowering anxiety and enhancing mental health. |
Abstract
The present study is designed to compare two different types of meditations, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme (MBSRP; Zinn, 2003) and Sufi Meditation (SM) in the treatment of neurotic anxiety and enhancement of mental health in female population. The study is comprised of a total of 200 participants upon whom Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS; Hamilton, 1959) was administered and two groups of subjects each comprising of 50 (n = 50) subjects with high anxiety and 50 (n = 50) with low anxiety scores (n = 100) derived, further bifurcated into four subgroups wherein 25 (n = 25) subjects with low anxiety randomly assigned to both groups and remaining 25 (n = 25) with high anxiety assigned randomly to each groups. Pre- and post-test measures on HAS and Psychological Well-Being Scale (Ryff, 1989) for both groups was obtained and analyzed. The overall results of study showed that Mindfulness meditation group showed significantly higher score on HAS as compared to Sufi meditation group. According to the results, Sufi meditation was more effective in lowering anxiety and enhancing mental health, since it matches the belief system of the population. Hence results provide a base for future research to combine both types of meditations developing a new healing dimension.