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The effect of meditation on depression, anxiety, and stress in university students

M. Doğan, Tuğçe Polat, Muhammed Mucahit Yilmaz

Advances in Health and Behavior 2021 DOI: 10.25082/ahb.2021.01.006 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Controlled trial (two-group comparison) Peer reviewed
Population University students
Intervention Attention and awareness meditation
Dose 20-minute session once a week
Duration 8 weeks
Measures Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale
Topics Anxiety Depression Meditation
Key findings The authors report that a 20-minute weekly attention and awareness meditation practiced for eight weeks produced no significant difference in depression, anxiety, or stress levels between the meditation group and the comparison group. They conclude that meditation was an ineffective approach for reducing these outcomes in university students.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of meditation on depression, anxiety, and stress levels of university students. Design and

Methods: In the study, the data were collected using personal information form and Depression, anxiety, and stress scale. The meditation group performed a 20-minute attention and awareness meditation once a week for 8 weeks.

Findings: As a result of the statistical analysis, it was observed that there was no significant difference in the comparison of the anxiety, stress, and depression levels between two groups at the end of 8 weeks. Practice

Implications: Consequently, it was determined that meditation was an ineffective approach for reducing the anxiety, stress, and depression levels.

Comparable studies

Other non-randomized and open-label trials on anxiety, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Quality of Acute Psychedelic Experience Predicts Therapeutic Efficacy of Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Patients with treatment-resistant depression 2018 Clinical trial n = 20
Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Psilocybin in 9 Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) 2006 Controlled clinical trial
Rapid Resolution of Suicidal Ideation After a Single Infusion of anN-Methyl-D-Aspartate Antagonist in Patients With Treatment-Resistant Major Depressive Disorder Subjects with DSM-IV-diagnosed treatment-resistant major depressive disorder 2010 Open-label trial n = 33
Emotions and brain function are altered up to one month after a single high dose of psilocybin. Healthy volunteers (7 female, 5 male) 2020 Open-label pilot study n = 12
Psilocybin-assisted group therapy for demoralized older long-term AIDS survivor men: An open-label safety and feasibility pilot study Older long-term AIDS survivor (OLTAS) self-identified gay men with moderate-to-severe... 2020 Open-label study

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