Feasibility and preliminary outcomes of intensive mindfulness and yoga on prisoners with personality disorders: A randomised controlled preliminary study
Ivana Buric, Miguel Farias, Stoyan Kurtev, Valerie van Mulukom, Christopher Mee, Lloyd Gould, Sabeela Rehman, Barbara A. Parker, Inti Angelo Brazil
Brain Behavior and Immunity Integrative April 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbii.2023.100009 (opens in new tab)
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Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | Prisoners with personality disorders recruited within a clinical unit of a high-security prison |
| Interventions | Mindfulness Yoga |
| Duration | 3 hours per day on 5 consecutive days |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key findings | The study was underpowered to detect changes on primary or secondary outcome measures, but 80% of examined inflammation-related genes showed medium and large effect sizes, which the authors suggest marks this as an important outcome for future studies. Feasibility was largely supported, with satisfactory recruitment and dropout, though 60% refused blood draws and randomization adherence was imperfect. |
Abstract
This study was the first to test the feasibility of mind-body interventions with a randomised control research design in a sample that contains all ten types of personality disorders, and the first to provide a preliminary evaluation of responses using a combination of psychological, genomic, neural, and behavioural measures. Thirty prisoners with personality disorders were recruited within a clinical unit of a high security prison and assigned to a mindfulness intervention (n=10), a yoga intervention (n=10), or a wait-list control group (n=10). Both mindfulness and yoga interventions were held simultaneously and lasted three hours per day on five consecutive days. At baseline and after the intervention, we measured inflammation-related gene expression through venous blood; attention with a cognitive task; event-related potentials (ERPs) with EEG; and stress, emotion regulation and mindfulness with questionnaires. Here we show that recruitment and dropout rates were satisfactory, and data collection was successful despite its length and complexity. The only exception were blood samples where 60% of participants refused to give blood, but this was expected because 47% of recruited participants had a diagnosis of paranoid personality disorder. Unexpected difficulties occurred when participants did not fully adhere to randomisation procedures, and a riot took place during the final day of the interventions. This study was underpowered to detect changes on primary or secondary outcome measures, but despite that 80% of examined inflammation-related genes showed medium and large effect sizes suggesting this as an important outcome measure in future studies. Minor adjustments to the study design are necessary before a larger scale study can be conducted to precisely determine the effects of mindfulness and yoga as an additional treatment for prisoners with personality disorders.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cites 10
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
- How long does a mindfulness‐based stress reduction program need to be? A review of class contact hours and effect sizes for psychological distress Journal of Clinical Psychology March 23, 2009
- Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors August 28, 2006
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Massachusetts Correctional Facilities The Prison Journal June 1, 2007
and 5 more in the library