A Growth Curve Analysis Study Examining the Relationship Between a Meditation-Based Stress Reduction Program and Components of Subjective Well-Being
Jones, John T.
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/80286
Description
Title
A Growth Curve Analysis Study Examining the Relationship Between a Meditation-Based Stress Reduction Program and Components of Subjective Well-Being
Author(s)
Jones, John T.
Issue Date
1998
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Terence J.G.Tracey
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Psychobiology
Language
eng
Abstract
Using growth curve analysis (Francis et al., 1991; Rogosa, Brandt, & Zimowski, 1985), this study tested a model for the experience of beginning meditators. I posited that a successful novice meditator, over the course of a six-session Meditation-Based Stress Reduction Program, would experience an increase in negative affect with the initial practice of meditation, followed by a gradual decrease in negative affect, while positive affect remained relatively unchanged. My model was based on anecdotal accounts in the meditation literature (e.g., Bogart, 1991; Brown, 1984; Kohr, 1984) that suggested this pattern of increasing and decreasing negative affect would occur due to the psychological discomfort beginning meditators frequently experience on first sitting alone and the subsequent experience of calm and focused concentration as one continues to practice meditation over time. Sixty-eight participants volunteered for the study, with fifty-two participants receiving the treatment and sixteen participants in a wait-list control group. The results of the study did not support my model for beginning meditators. In fact, one of the findings suggests that higher negative affect may be positively related to success for beginning meditators. Other findings are discussed and implications for the use of meditation as a method of intervention are provided. This study was a step toward the goal of understanding individual differences in the change process as a result of an intensive meditation training program. The study illustrates that, through the use of growth curve analysis, a researcher can move beyond the question of whether a specific intervention is effective. Utilizing the growth curve approach, the investigator may examine the process an individual experiences during the course of an intervention, and the degree to which individual differences in growth are related to correlates of change. This approach offers conceptual and methodological advantages over more traditional approaches to the measurement of change.
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