The effects of the transcendental meditation program on mindfulness.

Full Abstract

Mindfulness is associated with low levels of neuroticism, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as high levels of self-esteem and satisfaction with life (Brown & Ryan, 2003). As part of a 3-month randomized waitlist-controlled trial of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program on university students (N=295), we examined the impact of TM practice on mindfulness as measured by the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS; Baer, Smith, & Allen, 2004). A repeated measures ANOVA on total KIMS scores showed a significant timextreatment interaction, with the TM participants reporting greater increases in mindfulness than the waitlist participants. All KIMS subscales were positively intercorrelated at pretreatment, and there were no differences over time or as a function of treatment condition in subscale intercorrelations. Therefore, previously published findings of a positive correlation between subscales measuring the skills of observing and accepting-without-judgment one's inner experiences only among those with meditation experience may have reflected a self-selection effect rather than a change in the relation of these mindfulness components resulting directly from meditation practice. Copyright 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Author information

Author/s: Tanner, Melissa A (MA); Travis, Fred (F); Gaylord-King, Carolyn (C); Haaga, David A F (DA); Grosswald, Sarina (S); Schneider, Robert H (RH);

Affiliation: American University, Washington, DC 20016-8062, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of clinical psychology (J Clin Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jun; vol 65 (issue 6) : pp 574-89

Dates: Created 2009/04/29; Completed 2009/06/08;

PMID: 19241401, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 6/8/2009, IMS Date: 08 Jun 2009 00:00:00)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.

See 100+ related articles.

See a large map of 100+ related articles.