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The effect of the transcendental meditation technique on anxiety level
Author(s) -
Dillbeck Michael C.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(197710)33:4<1076::aid-jclp2270330435>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - transcendental meditation , psychology , meditation , anxiety , psychotherapist , transcendental number , clinical psychology , cognitive psychology , psychoanalysis , epistemology , psychiatry , philosophy , theology
Two weeks of twice‐daily practice of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique was compared with 2 weeks of twice‐daily practice of passive relaxation as a means of reduction of anxiety, as measured by the Trait scale of the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory. Thirty‐three graduate and undergraduate students were assigned randomly to a relaxation group and a TM group. After a 2‐week experimental interval, the relaxation S s began TM. As hypothesized, in the comparison between the relaxation and meditation S s, as well as between conditions of the relaxation‐meditation group, TM was significantly more effective in reducing anxiety level. Thus, the anxiety‐reducing effect of the practice of TM cannot be attributed merely to sitting quietly twice daily, although additional research must determine the extent to which S expectations for change contributed to this effect.