The Impact of Positive and Negative Spiritual Experiences on Distress and the Moderating Role of Mindfulness
Niko Kohls, Harald Walach, George Lewith
Archive for the Psychology of Religion September 1, 2009 DOI: 10.1163/008467209x12524724282032 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 109 |
| Population | Chronically ill patients |
| Measures | Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES), Exceptional Experiences Questionnaire (EEQ), Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 31 |
| Key findings | Negative spiritual experiences were the strongest predictor of psychological distress (R²=.38, β=.63), while mindfulness (β=-.38) and its interaction with negative spiritual experiences (β=-.23) buffered distress. Positive spiritual experiences did not significantly predict distress. |
Abstract
Both spiritual experiences and mindfulness as a psychological variable have been identified as components of wellbeing and health. As there is uncertainty about their relationship, we have investigated the impact of spiritual experiences and mindfulness as well as their interaction on distress in chronically ill patients. The unidimensional Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES), the multidimensional Exceptional Experiences Questionnaire (EEQ), the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI), and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) were administered to 109 chronically ill patients. Fifty-eight patients (53%) reported regular and frequent spiritual or contemplative practice from different traditions over an average of 14.7 years (SD = 13.7). Patients with regular spiritual practice reported more positive spiritual experiences, were more mindful and less distressed (p < .001). A stepwise linear regression analysis revealed that the EEQ subscale “negative spiritual experiences” (NSE) was the most important single predictor for psychological distress (R 2 =.38; β=.63). In contrast, both the EEQ subscale “positive spiritual experiences” as well as the DSES that also captures positives daily encounters with a transcendental realm or entity did not account for a significant amount of variance in distress. Further analysis of the regression model (R 2 =.57), confirmed that NSE was still the largest predictor for distress (β=.61) and that mindfulness (β=–.38) and the interaction between mindfulness and NSE (β=–.23) were the most important buffers protecting individuals from distress. Thus, mindfulness seems not only to be a clinically important protective factor for buffering generic distress, but particularly for distress derived from NSEs. This suggests that in addition to directly facilitating well-being and health by means of positive spiritual experiences, at least some form of regular spiritual or meditative techniques seem to endow an individual with a certain degree of resilience against negative spiritual experiences that is likely a consequence of increased mindfulness. If these findings are vindicated by further studies, spiritual experiences should not be conceived and measured as univariate but rather multivariate constructs.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Dialectics of mindfulness: implications for western medicine. Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine May 17, 2011
- Psychometric properties of the short form of the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory in the Arabic language. International journal of environmental health research July 1, 2024
- Mindfulness and mystical experiences in Sufis and non-Sufis Mental Health, Religion & Culture August 9, 2023
- Mindfulness and devotion in Tantric Yoga: evidence of a strong trait association Frontiers in Psychology March 19, 2026
- Freiburg mindfulness inventory (FMI) short form and revised form (FMI-13R) - norm scores and psychometrics in a representative German sample. BMC Psychology November 26, 2025
Cites 10
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- 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
- Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2003
- Attending to the present: mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience August 13, 2007
and 5 more in the library