Secondary prevention of drug dependence through the transcendental meditation program in metropolitan Philadelphia.
R J Monahan
International Journal of the Addictions September 1977 DOI: 10.3109/10826087709024122 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational survey using mailed questionnaires Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | A random sample of Transcendental Meditation practitioners and matched control subjects |
| Intervention | Transcendental Meditation |
| Topics | Addiction Meditation |
| Key findings | Meditators reported lower usage levels and lower percentages of users than matched controls for almost all legal and illegal drugs, and former users of alcohol, cigarettes, or illegal drugs reported long abstinence. Decreases were positively correlated with degree of participation in the program and length of time meditating. |
Abstract
Using mailed questionnaires, the Transcendental Meditation program was investigated as an approach to the secondary prevention of substance dependence. Significant differences were found between a random sample of meditators and matched control subjects in usage levels and percentage of users for almost all legal and illegal drugs. Meditators had used more prescribed psychoactive medications before learning meditation, but usage levels returned to normal soon after starting. Former users of alcohol, cigarettes, or illegal drugs achieved remarkable abstinence records. For most substances the amount of decrease was positively correlated with degree of participation in the program and the length of time meditating.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Persisting Reductions in Cannabis, Opioid, and Stimulant Misuse After Naturalistic Psychedelic Use: An Online Survey Online survey respondents | 2020 | Cross-sectional survey | |
| The users of Novel Psychoactive Substances: Online survey about their characteristics, attitudes and motivations International users of novel psychoactive substances recruited via bluelight.org | 2016 | Cross-sectional online survey | n = 619 |
| User perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use: A web-based questionnaire study Users of hallucinogenic drugs who completed a web-based questionnaire | 2010 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 600 |
| Psychological and neuropsychological assessment of regular hoasca users. Regular hoasca users from a U.S. branch of União do Vegetal and matched non-user controls | 2016 | Cross-sectional study | n = 57 |
| Client and counselor attitudes toward the use of medications for treatment of opioid dependence. Counselors and clients from outpatient, methadone, and residential drug treatment programs | 2007 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 1,459 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation Program in Preventing and Treating Substance Misuse: A Review International Journal of the Addictions 1991
- The Use of Transcendental Meditation in Relapse Prevention Counseling Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly May 6, 1991
- Producing Altered States of Consciousness, Reducing Substance Misuse: A Review of Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy, Transcendental Meditation and Hypnotherapy Psychoactives March 25, 2024
- Medical care utilization and the transcendental meditation program. Psychosomatic Medicine 1987