Adolescents’ initial experiences of sitting mindfulness meditation
Bābak Farzāneh
cIRcle (University of British Columbia) 2011 DOI: 10.14288/1.0054467 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study (phenomenological) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 11 |
| Population | Grade 11 and 12 students from two secondary high schools in a large metropolitan Canadian city |
| Intervention | Sitting Mindfulness Meditation |
| Duration | One week, with three sessions every second day |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Eight major structures capturing adolescents' experiences of SMM emerged: expectations, attention and concentration, distraction, awareness, self-reflection, getting in touch with feelings, beneficial experiences, and conceptualization of SMM. The study contributes to understanding how SMM may be experienced by adolescents. |
Abstract
Mindfulness-based programs have become popular clinical interventions and are receiving attention in the scientific literature. This qualitative study explored the initial experiences of adolescents with “Sitting Mindfulness Meditation” (SMM: Kabat-Zinn, 1994, 2002), a technique that involves intentionally focusing one’s attention on the physical sensations of the breath while engaging in non-evaluative and non-judgmental observation of one’s thoughts, feelings, and sensations. This study explored SMM using a phenomenological design to answer the question, “What are the initial experiences of adolescents practicing SMM?” Participants, grade 11 and 12 students, were recruited from two secondary high schools in a large metropolitan Canadian city through poster advertisements and contacting high school counsellors. In order to capture the essence of the phenomenon being investigated, two semi-structured interviews were conducted. The first interview followed adolescents’ initial experiences with SMM, using CD instructions from Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program (Kabat-Zinn, 2002). The second research interview was conducted a week after the adolescents had practiced SMM every second day for a total of three sessions at home using the CD. The adolescents were encouraged to keep a journal of their experiences at home. All data were analyzed according to Giorgi and Giorgi’s (2003) psychological phenomenological method. Eight major structures capturing participants’ experiences of SMM emerged: a) expectations of SMM; b) attention and concentration; c) distraction; d) awareness; e) self-reflection; f) getting in touch with feelings; g) beneficial experiences; and h) conceptualization of SMM. This study contributes to a greater understanding of how SMM may be experienced by adolescents. Implications for future research and application of mindfulness-based interventions are discussed.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cites 26
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- What Do We Really Know About Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction? Psychosomatic Medicine 2002
- Cultivating mindfulness: effects on well‐being Journal of Clinical Psychology May 16, 2008
and 21 more in the library