A Second-Generation Mindfulness-Based Intervention Focusing on Flow State: A Samatha-Based Training
Daliang Zhao
The Sport Psychologist 2024 DOI: 10.1123/tsp.2023-0160 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental intervention study with wait-list control Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 22 |
| Population | Martial-arts-routine athletes |
| Intervention | Samatha-based training (SBT) |
| Duration | 7-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | A 7-week Samatha-based training intervention significantly increased present-moment attention, awareness, and flow state scores in martial-arts-routine athletes compared with a wait-list group. The authors argue that SBT is a promising novel second-generation mindfulness-based intervention and propose a Samatha-perspective explanation for its effect on flow. |
Abstract
Currently, there is no empirical research on second-generation mindfulness training in the field of sport psychology. This study designed Samatha-based training (SBT) according to the principles of Samatha (a Buddhist practice) and preliminarily tested its influence on flow state. A total of 22 martial-arts-routine athletes were divided into two groups: the SBT group (n = 10) and the wait-list group (n = 12). The 7-week intervention demonstrated that SBT significantly enhanced the scores in present-moment attention, awareness, and flow state. These results support the effectiveness of SBT as a novel second-generation mindfulness-based intervention. Furthermore, the concept of mindfulness is discussed from the Samatha perspective, and subsequently, the reason that SBT promotes flow state was explored from a new perspective.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 8
- The Effect of Mindfulness Training on Athletes’ Flow: An Initial Investigation The Sport Psychologist June 1, 2011
- Comparing impacts of meditation training in focused attention, open monitoring, and mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy on emotion reactivity and regulation: Neural and subjective evidence from a dismantling study Psychophysiology February 19, 2022
- Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Promoting Athletic Performance and Related Factors among Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health January 22, 2023
- A New Second-Generation Mindfulness-Based Intervention Focusing on Well-Being: A Randomized Control Trial of Mindfulness-Based Positive Psychology Journal of Happiness Studies April 2, 2022
- Dismantling Mindfulness-Based Programs: A Systematic Review to Identify Active Components of Treatment. Mindfulness July 25, 2020
and 3 more in the library