A Long-Term Pilot Study of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Subjective Well-Being Among Healthy Individuals in Comparison with Clinical Samples.
Mitsuhiro Sado, Teppei Kosugi, Akira Ninomiya, Sunre Park, Daisuke Fujisawa, Maki Nagaoka, Masaru Mimura
Psychology Research and Behavior Management 2021 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s318460 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Single-arm, pre-post comparison pilot study Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 24 |
| Population | Healthy individuals and people with common mental disorders |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) |
| Duration | Eight weekly two-hour sessions with six monthly boosters; assessment at baseline, week 4, week 8, and follow-up (up to week 32) |
| Measures | 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5), Satisfaction with Life Scale |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Common mental disorders Feasibility Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy Subjective well-being |
| Key points | MBCT was reported as sufficiently safe and more feasible for healthy individuals than clinical samples, with attendance of 81.5% versus 61.3%. No significant improvement was seen on the WHO-5 overall, though Satisfaction with Life Scale scores improved significantly at week 20; among participants whose baseline WHO-5 scores were in the lower half, WHO-5 improved significantly at weeks 8 and 32. |
Abstract
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) could be an intervention for improving subjective well-being among healthy individuals (HIs). However, MBCT studies for HIs to improve their subjective well-being are rare. The aim of this study was to report the feasibility, safety and effectiveness of MBCT for HIs in comparison with clinical samples. We conducted a single-arm, pre-post comparison pilot study offering MBCT to both HIs and people with common mental disorders. Twenty-four participants in total were included in the study. Eight weekly two-hour sessions with six monthly boosters were offered to all participants. Assessment was carried out at baseline, week 4, 8, and during follow-up. The 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) was the primary clinical outcome measure. The results showed the MBCT is sufficiently safe and would be more feasible in HIs compared to in clinical samples (attendance rate: 81.5% vs 61.3%, p=0.06). Although Satisfaction with Life Scale, the other scale of subjective well-being used, improved significantly at week 20 (p=0.01), no significant improvement was seen in WHO-5. The results of the sub-group analysis revealed WHO-5 improved significantly at week 8 and 32 among the subjects whose baseline scores began in the lower half. MBCT is sufficiently safe and would be more feasible with HIs compared to the clinical samples. In designing randomized controlled trials, selecting HIs with lower subjective well-being would be reasonable to minimize the "ceiling effect" on outcomes.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |