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Bockrath, Margaret 2.pdf (2.62 MB)
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
Mindfulness meditation training for spiritual struggles: A randomized controlled trial
Author Info
Bockrath, Margaret Feuille
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1445504635
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2015, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, Psychology/Clinical.
Abstract
A growing literature demonstrates that spiritual struggles can have significant long-term negative consequences for psychological and medical adjustment (Abu-Raiya, Pargament, Krause, & Ironson, in press; Exline, 2013), making these struggles a potentially important target for intervention. A primary purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of one possibly crucial component of existing interventions for spiritual struggles—mindfulness training. A secondary aim of this study was to examine the incremental utility of explicitly addressing spiritual struggles and spiritual resources within a mindfulness intervention. In the present study, 62 college students reporting modest levels of spiritual struggles were randomly assigned to a control condition or one of three online, month-long intervention conditions—mindfulness meditation training (M), mindfulness meditation training with spiritual content (MS), and progressive muscle relaxation training (PMR). Outcomes were assessed before and after the intervention, and again a month later. Results from 46 study-completers indicated that the M condition experienced greater improvements in somatic distress and spiritual growth relative to other conditions, though evidence for greater diminishment of spiritual struggles specifically was tenuous. Results failed to support the superior efficacy of the MS condition over other conditions. On the contrary, the M condition experienced greater improvements in outcomes relative to the MS condition. These results extend prior research supporting the efficacy of mindfulness in promoting improved psychological functioning in a range of populations (e.g. Grossman, Niemann, Schmidt & Walach, 2004) and are consistent with a growing number of studies reporting that mindfulness training leads to improvements in spiritual functioning (e.g., Carmody, Reed, Kristeller & Merriam, 2008; Oman, Shapiro, Thoresen, Flinders, Driskill, & Plante, 2007). These results also suggest that caution should be used when explicitly addressing spirituality in brief mindfulness training for individuals struggling spiritually.
Committee
Kenneth Pargament, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Casey Cromwell, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Annette Mahoney, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Amy Morgan, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Pages
177 p.
Subject Headings
Clinical Psychology
;
Religion
;
Spirituality
Keywords
spiritual struggles
;
mindfulness
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Citations
Bockrath, M. F. (2015).
Mindfulness meditation training for spiritual struggles: A randomized controlled trial
[Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1445504635
APA Style (7th edition)
Bockrath, Margaret.
Mindfulness meditation training for spiritual struggles: A randomized controlled trial .
2015. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1445504635.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Bockrath, Margaret. "Mindfulness meditation training for spiritual struggles: A randomized controlled trial ." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1445504635
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
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Document number:
bgsu1445504635
Download Count:
1,166
Copyright Info
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.