The Transcendental Meditation® Program and Rehabilitation At Folsom State Prison
Allan I. Abrams, Larry M. Siegel
Correctional Psychologist March 1, 1978 DOI: 10.1177/009385487800500101 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-validation design with pre- and postmeasurement treatment and control groups Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Inmates in a maximum security prison |
| Intervention | Transcendental Meditation program |
| Duration | 14-week treatment interval |
| Measures | Eysenck Personality Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, survey of sleep patterns and smoking habits |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Across two cross-validation experiments, the Transcendental Meditation group showed significant reductions in anxiety, neuroticism, hostility, and insomnia compared with the control group over a 14-week interval, as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, and a sleep and smoking survey. |
Abstract
The effects of the Transcendental Meditation program in a maximum security prison were studied via cross-validation design. Each of two experiments involved the pre- and postmeasurement of a treatment and a control group with a 14-week treatment interval. All subjects were administered the Eysenck Personality Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, and a survey of sleep patterns and smoking habits. Parallel significant differences between the Transcendental Meditation and control groups across all the inventories were found via MANCOVAs, indicating reduction in anxiety, neuroticism, hostility, and insomnia as a function of the treatment.