Impact of Mindfulness Meditation Practices on Self-Efficacyamong Parents of Children with Thalassemia Major
Laxmi Dubey, Surabhi Misra
THE SCIENTIFIC TEMPER September 28, 2026 DOI: 10.58414/scientifictemper.2026.17.9.2545 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pretest-posttest randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 40 |
| Population | Parents of children with thalassemia major, aged 25-50 years (20 mothers and 20 fathers), selected from Sharda Narayan Hospital, Mau, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Duration | Three-month intervention; pretest and posttest assessment |
| Measures | standardized self-efficacy scale |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Mindfulness meditation produced a statistically significant improvement in self-efficacy scores among parents of children with thalassemia major compared with a no-intervention control group, and pretest-posttest scores differed significantly. No significant gender difference in self-efficacy was found between mothers and fathers. |
Abstract
Thalassemia is a hereditary blood disorder that poses significant physical, emotional andpsychological challenges not only for children but also for their parents. Due to the chronicnature of the illness and long-term caregiving responsibilities, parents of those childrenoften experience continuous psychological stress. Such challenges may negatively affectparents’ belief in their ability to manage caregiving demands, referred to as self-efficacy.Mindfulness meditation has been recognized as an effective psychological intervention thatpromotes emotional regulation, awareness, and adaptive coping. The present studyexamined the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation practices in enhancing self-efficacyamong parents of children with thalassemia major. A sample of 40 parents (20 mothers and20 fathers) aged between 25 to 50 years were selected purposefully from Sharda NarayanHospital, Mau, UP. A pretest-posttest control group design was used, wherein participantswere randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. Participants ofexperimental group were provided with a structured mindfulness meditation sessions for aperiod of three month, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Self –Efficacy was measured using a standardized scale before and after the intervention. MixedAnalysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used for statistical analysis. The result revealed astatistically significant improvement in self- efficacy scores among experimental group ascompared to control group. A significant difference was also observed between pretest andposttest scores. However, no significant gender difference was found between mothers andfathers. Thus, the intervention was found to be effective in improving self-efficacy amongparents of children with thalassemia major.
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 |