Meditation training and enduring changes in psychological functioning: a 7-year longitudinal study

Stephen R. Aichele; Baljinder K. Sahdra; Anthony P. Zanesco; Brandon G. King; Emma L. Bradshaw; Jennifer J. Pokorny; Emilio Ferrer; Phillip R. Shaver; Clifford D. Saron

doi:10.1080/17439760.2024.2378700

Meditation training and enduring changes in psychological functioning: a 7-year longitudinal study

Stephen R. Aichele, Baljinder K. Sahdra, Anthony P. Zanesco, Brandon G. King, Emma L. Bradshaw, Jennifer J. Pokorny, Emilio Ferrer, Phillip R. Shaver, Clifford D. Saron

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Considerable research has now documented the beneficial effects of mindfulness-based practices on psychological functioning. Less is known about the long-term durability of such changes following formal meditation training. In a sample of adults (N = 67, 52% female, ages 22–70 years), we examined changes in 16 measures of psychological adaptive functioning across a 3-month residential meditation intervention and across a subsequent 7-year period. We observed general training-related improvements followed by multi-year returns toward pre-training levels. However, beneficial changes in two personality attributes (agreeableness and neuroticism) were of moderate effect size (d = 0.51 and d = 0.45, respectively) and were retained across the 7-year follow-up. We further found that individual variation in changes was represented by three latent attributes: (Changes related to) Mindful Well-being, Resilient Extraversion, and Self-Compassionate Openness. These results suggest that intensive meditation training is associated with improved adaptive functioning and enduring changes in aspects of personality.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Positive Psychology
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2024.2378700
State	Accepted/In press - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Funding

This research was funded by the Fetzer Institute (Grant 2191) and John Templeton Foundations (Grant 39970); the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies; and gifts from the Hershey Family, the Baumann, Tan Teo, Yoga Science, and Mental Insight Foundations, and anonymous and other donors all to Clifford Saron. We are grateful to David Bridwell, Tonya Jacobs, Katherine MacLean, Quinn Conklin, and B. Alan Wallace for their many contributions to the study.

Funders	Funder number
Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies
Hershey Family Foundation
Mental Insight Foundations
Fetzer Institute	2191
Fetzer Institute
John Templeton Foundation	39970
John Templeton Foundation

Keywords

adaptive functioning
affect regulation
altruism
factor of curves
Longitudinal
loving kindness
mindfulness
neuroticism
personality
self-compassion

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Psychology

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10.1080/17439760.2024.2378700

Cite this

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title = "Meditation training and enduring changes in psychological functioning: a 7-year longitudinal study",

abstract = "Considerable research has now documented the beneficial effects of mindfulness-based practices on psychological functioning. Less is known about the long-term durability of such changes following formal meditation training. In a sample of adults (N = 67, 52% female, ages 22–70 years), we examined changes in 16 measures of psychological adaptive functioning across a 3-month residential meditation intervention and across a subsequent 7-year period. We observed general training-related improvements followed by multi-year returns toward pre-training levels. However, beneficial changes in two personality attributes (agreeableness and neuroticism) were of moderate effect size (d = 0.51 and d = 0.45, respectively) and were retained across the 7-year follow-up. We further found that individual variation in changes was represented by three latent attributes: (Changes related to) Mindful Well-being, Resilient Extraversion, and Self-Compassionate Openness. These results suggest that intensive meditation training is associated with improved adaptive functioning and enduring changes in aspects of personality.",

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AU - Sahdra, Baljinder K.

AU - Zanesco, Anthony P.

AU - King, Brandon G.

AU - Bradshaw, Emma L.

AU - Pokorny, Jennifer J.

AU - Ferrer, Emilio

AU - Shaver, Phillip R.

AU - Saron, Clifford D.

PY - 2024

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ER -

Meditation training and enduring changes in psychological functioning: a 7-year longitudinal study

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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