Interpersonal and individual effects of an app-based Christian and Islamic heart meditation intervention in healthy adults: protocol of a stratified randomised controlled trial.
Chung Fei Ng, Miguel Farias, Inti A. Brazil
BMC Psychology September 27, 2024 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-02022-y (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial protocol Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Christian and Muslim participants, stratified into Christian and Muslim samples |
| Dose | daily 20-minute guided meditation sessions |
| Duration | 8-week intervention with assessments at baseline (T1), post-intervention (T2), and 3-month follow-up (T3) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Online spiritual tools E-spirituality Technology and spirituality Digital spiritual tools Spiritual practice trial Health meditation research Randomized study Clinical trial Health improvement Personal well-being Wellness Health benefits Social interactions Relationship improvement Community well-being |
| Citations | 3 |
| Registration | NCT06136676 |
| Key findings | The protocol proposes testing whether app-based Christian and Islamic heart-centred meditation improves interpersonal functioning, psychophysiology, cognition, and mental health relative to secular mindfulness meditation (MBSR) and a waitlist control. Primary outcomes are prosociality, forgiveness, empathy, and perspective taking; secondary outcomes include pain tolerance and intensity, stress reactivity via heart rate and heart rate variability, attention networks, and mental health measures. The authors contend that positive results would support these practices as a way to enhance well-being within a religious framework. |
Abstract
Background: The academic development and widespread adoption of meditation practices for well-being and therapy have predominantly focused on secularised adaptations of Buddhist and Hindu techniques. This study aims to expand the field by investigating Christian and Islamic meditation that emphasize the spiritual significance of the heart through elements of visualisation and recitation. It compares the effects of spiritual heart-centred meditation with mindfulness meditation and a waitlist control, focusing on dimensions of social functioning, psychophysiology, cognition, and mental health.
Method: This study employs a stratified 3-arm randomised controlled method with mixed-method repeated measures across three assessment time points: before intervention (T1), after an 8-week intervention (T2), and at a 3-month follow up (T3). The three conditions include spiritual meditation (either Christian or Islamic), mindfulness meditation (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction - MBSR), and a waitlist. Participants will be stratified into Christian and Muslim samples and randomly allocated to the spiritual meditation, MBSR, or waitlist control conditions. Importantly, participants assigned to the spiritual meditation condition will be matched to the spiritual meditation program corresponding to their religion. The intervention will be administered through a mobile phone app with daily 20-minute guided meditation sessions for eight weeks. Primary outcomes pertain to the domain of interpersonal functioning, focusing on prosociality, forgiveness, empathy, and perspective taking. Secondary outcomes include physiology: pain tolerance, pain intensity, stress reactivity assessed via heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), psychophysiological reactivity associated with a forgiveness task as measured through HR and HRV, attention (alerting, orienting, and executive attention networks), and mental health (stress, depression, anxiety, subjective well-being, positive and negative affect).
Discussion: This trial aims to test the effects of an app-based Christian and Islamic meditation, compared to secular mindfulness and a waitlist, using a randomised controlled trial. If the results yield positive outcomes, this study will support the efficacy of these contemplations, offering practitioners a way to enhance their well-being within their religious framework.
Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT06136676. Registered on 18 November 2023. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06136676 .
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 14
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Relaxation and Meditation The Oxford Handbook of Meditation March 14, 2019
- The Phenomenology of Meditation The Oxford Handbook of Meditation February 10, 2021
- Effectiveness of Mantra-Based Meditation on Mental Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health March 13, 2022
and 9 more in the library