Effects of the Transcendental Meditation Program on Substance Use among University Students

David A F Haaga, Sarina Grosswald, Carolyn Gaylord-King, Maxwell Rainforth, Melissa Tanner, Fred Travis, Sanford Nidich, Robert H Schneider, David A F Haaga, Sarina Grosswald, Carolyn Gaylord-King, Maxwell Rainforth, Melissa Tanner, Fred Travis, Sanford Nidich, Robert H Schneider

Abstract

A randomized wait-list controlled trial (N = 295 university students) of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation program was conducted in an urban setting. Substance use was assessed by self-report at baseline and 3 months later. For smoking and illicit drug use, there were no significant differences between conditions. For alcohol use, sex X intervention condition interactions were significant; TM instruction lowered drinking rates among male but not female students. TM instruction could play a valuable role in reducing alcohol use among male university students. Limitations are noted, along with suggestions for further research.

References

    1. Hingson RW, Heeren T, Zakocs RC, Kopstein A, Wechsler H. Magnitude of alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. College students ages 18–24. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 2002;63(2):136–144.
    1. Njølstad I, Arnesen E, Lund-Larsen PG. Smoking, serum lipids, blood pressure, and sex differences in myocardial infarction: a 12-year follow-up of the Finnmark study. Circulation. 1996;93(3):450–456.
    1. Caudill BD, Luckey B, Crosse SB, Blane HT, Ginexi EM, Campbell B. Alcohol risk-reduction skills training in a national fraternity: a randomized intervention trial with longitudinal intent-to-treat analysis. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 2007;68(3):399–409.
    1. Alexander CN, Robinson P, Rainforth M. Treating and preventing alcohol, nicotine, and drug abuse through Transcendental Meditation: a review and statistical meta-analysis. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. 1994;11(1-2):13–87.
    1. Hawkins MA. Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation program in criminal rehabilitation and substance abuse recovery: a review of the research. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. 2003;36:47–65.
    1. Myers TI, Eisner EJ. An Experimental Evaluation of the Effects of Karate and Meditation. Final Report for the U.S. Army Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Social Processes Technical Area. Washington, DC, USA: American Institutes for Research; 1974.
    1. Ottens AJ. The effect of Transcendental Meditation upon modifying the cigarette smoking habit. The Journal of School Health. 1975;45(10):577–583.
    1. Roth R. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation: Revised & Updated Edition. New York, NY, USA: Donald I. Fine; 1994.
    1. Maharishi. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad Gita. New York, NY, USA: Penguin; 1969.
    1. Travis F. Pure consciousness: distinct phenomenological and physiological correlates of ’consciousness itself’. International Journal of Neuroscience. 2000;100(1–4):77–89.
    1. Travis F, Wallace RK. Autonomic patterns during respiratory suspensions: possible markers of transcendental consciousness. Psychophysiology. 1997;34(1):39–46.
    1. Yamamoto S, Kitamura Y, Yamada N, Nakashima Y, Kuroda S. Medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex in the generation of alpha activity induced by Transcendental Meditation: a magnetoencephalographic study. Acta Medica Okayama. 2006;60(1):51–58.
    1. Travis F, Wallace RK. Autonomic and eeg patterns during eyes-closed rest and Transcendental Meditation (TM) practice: the basis for a neural model of tm practice. Consciousness and Cognition. 1999;8(3):302–318.
    1. Travis F, Tecce J, Arenander A, Wallace RK. Patterns of EEG coherence, power, and contingent negative variation characterize the integration of transcendental and waking states. Biological Psychology. 2002;61(3):293–319.
    1. Newberg A, Travis F, Wintering N, Nidich S, Alavi A, Schneider R. Cerebral glucose metabolic changes associated with Transcendental Meditation practice. In: Proceedings of the Conference on Neural Imaging; August 2006; Miami, Fla, USA.
    1. Jevning R, Wallace RK, Beidebach M. The physiology of meditation: a review. A wakeful hypometabolic integrated response. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 1992;16(3):415–424.
    1. McCabe SE, Morales M, Cranford JA, Delva J, McPherson MD, Boyd CJ. Race/ethnicity and gender differences in drug use and abuse among college students. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse. 2007;6(2):75–95.
    1. Harrell ZAT, Karim NM. Is gender relevant only for problem alcohol behaviors? An examination of correlates of alcohol use among college students. Addictive Behaviors. 2008;33(2):359–365.
    1. Reinhardt S, Bischof G, Grothues J, John U, Meyer C, Rumpf HJ. Gender differences in the efficacy of brief interventions with a stepped care approach in general practice patients with alcohol-related disorders. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 2008;43(3):334–340.
    1. O'Malley PM, Johnston LD. Epidemiology of alcohol and other drug use among American college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. Supplement. 2002;(supplement 14):23–39.
    1. Walton KG, Schneider RH, Nidich S. Review of controlled research on the Transcendental Meditation program and cardiovascular disease: risk factors, morbidity, mortality. Cardiology in Review. 2004;12(5):262–266.
    1. Korotitsch WJ, Nelson-Gray RO. An overview of self-monitoring research in assessment and treatment. Psychological Assessment. 1999;11(4):415–425.
    1. Sobell LC, Sobell MB. Timeline follow-back: a technique for assessing self-reported alcohol consumption. In: Litten RZ, Allen JP, editors. Measuring Alcohol Consumption: Psychosocial and Biochemical Methods. Totowa, NJ, USA: Humana Press; 1992. pp. 41–72.
    1. Shadish WR, Matt GE, Navarro AM, et al. Evidence that therapy works in clinically representative conditions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1997;65(3):355–365.
    1. Aron EM, Aron A. The patterns of reduction of drug and alcohol use among Transcendental Meditation participants. Bulletin of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors. 1983;2:28–33.
    1. Royer A. The role of the Transcendental Meditation technique in promoting smoking cessation: a longitudinal study. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. 1994;11(1-2):221–239.
    1. Slutske WS. Alcohol use disorders among US college students and their non-college-attending peers. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2005;62(3):321–327.

Source: PubMed

Szponzorok és közreműködők

Egészségi állapot

Kábítószer-beavatkozások

3
Iratkozz fel