PTSD symptoms, substance use, and vipassana meditation among incarcerated individuals

Abstract

The present study evaluated whether Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptom severity was associated with participation and treatment outcomes comparing a Vipassana meditation course to treatment as usual in an incarcerated sample. This study utilizes secondary data. The original study demonstrated that Vipassana meditation is associated with reductions in substance use. The present study found that PTSD symptom severity did not differ significantly between those who did and did not volunteer to take the course. Participation in the Vipassana course was associated with significantly greater reductions in substance use than treatment as usual, regardless of PTSD symptom severity levels. These results suggest that Vipassana meditation is worthy of further study for those with comorbid PTSD and substance use problems.

Mind–Body Approaches to Treating Mental Health Symptoms Among Disadvantaged Populations: A Comprehensive Review

“…[54][55][56][57][58]61,64 The remaining studies reviewed the efficacy of interventions based on mindfulness-based interventions, including yoga, meditation, and guided imagery. 51,59,60,62,[64][65][66][67][68][69][70] The studies reviewed here used mindfulness-based interventions in a wide range of high-risk disadvantaged populations, including racial/ethnic minorities, individuals with chronic health conditions (including AIDS and breast cancer), drug and alcohol users, and victims of interpersonal violence and trauma. All of the reviewed studies provided evidence that mindfulness-based interventions are effective in improving physical and mental health, functioning, self-care, and overall quality of life.…”

“…Among incarcerated individuals, participation in mindfulness-based therapies was similarly associated with a reduction in mood disturbance and drug related behaviors. 51,53,70 The reviewed studies provide preliminary evidence of the feasibility and acceptability of mindfulness-based interventions among high-risk disadvantaged populations. The studies of MBSR among disadvantaged individuals reported program completion rates ranging from 66% to 70%, 57,61,64 which is slightly higher than retention rates that have been reported for other evidence-based mental health treatments.…”

Can Inner Peace be Improved by Mindfulness Training: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…This measure was derived from an exploratory factor analysis of several previously developed mindfulness questionnaires (Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006). The FFMQ is a five-factor, 39-item measure designed to assess mindfulness across five facets including observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judging of inner experience and nonreactivity to inner experience (Simpson et al, 2007). Items are rated on a five-point scale ranging from 1 (never or very rarely true) to 5 (very often or always true).…”

“…ESM is therefore ideally suited to investigate changes in people's emotional reactions to their daily environment (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1987). To assess the extent to which mindfulness training increased the ability to focus attention, we chose to (Deng, Liu, Rodriguez, & Xia, 2011;Simpson et al, 2007). Furthermore, mediation analysis was used to test whether changes in inner peace were mediated by changes in mindfulness.…”

“…To assess the extent to which mindfulness training increased the ability to focus attention, we chose to use an experimental approach: the Meditation Breath Attention Task (Frewen, Evans, Maraj, Dozois, & Partridge, 2008). To assess dispositional mindfulness and changes in mindfulness, we used a mindfulness questionnaire, the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) (Deng, Liu, Rodriguez, & Xia, 2011;Simpson et al, 2007). Furthermore, mediation analysis was used to test whether changes in inner peace were mediated by changes in mindfulness.…”