Transcendental Meditation and Reduced Trauma Symptoms in Women Inmates

NCT ID: NCT02791464

Last Updated: 2016-06-06

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 22 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2014-03-31
• Study Completion Date: 2014-08-31

Brief Summary

The pilot study investigates the potential benefits of the Transcendental Meditation program in reducing trauma, including PTSD, in female prisoners. Subjects will be randomly assigned to either the TM program or a wait list control group for a period of four months.

Detailed Description

This randomized controlled pilot study will evaluate the effects of Transcendental Meditation ® (TM) on female offenders with trauma. Twenty-two inmates at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, Oregon, with at least four months left of incarceration, will be enrolled in the study. Subjects will be randomly assigned to either a TM (n=11) or a wait-list control group (n=11). Subjects will be measured at baseline and four-month posttest, using the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian version (PCL-C) Twenty of the subjects (10 in each group) will take part in their treatment assignment and complete post-testing.

Conditions

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

wait list control

Waitlist control subjects interested in learning the TM program will be asked to wait for 4 months before learning if they were randomly assigned to this comparison group. Controls will receive usual medical care during 4 month intervention period.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Transcendental Meditation

The TM technique is a simple, effortless, mental technique to reducing stress which allows the mind to experience finer levels of the thinking process to achieve a state of restful alertness. The Transcendental Meditation program will be taught as a standard seven-step program over five consecutive days.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Transcendental Meditation program

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

a mental technique using a mantra or 'soothing sound' that refines the thought process enabling the mind to 'transcend' its own thinking process and experience a state of pure consciousness. Subjects practice this technique twice a day for 20 minutes sitting in chair with eyes closed.

Interventions

Transcendental Meditation program

a mental technique using a mantra or 'soothing sound' that refines the thought process enabling the mind to 'transcend' its own thinking process and experience a state of pure consciousness. Subjects practice this technique twice a day for 20 minutes sitting in chair with eyes closed.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

TM technique

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• female inmates, at least 4 months left of incarceration, signed written informed consent prior to baseline testing

Exclusion Criteria

• none

• Eligible Sex: FEMALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Western Oregon University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Maharishi University of Management Research Institute

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Maharishi International University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Sanford Nidich

Principal Investigator, Associate Director

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Fred Travis, PhD

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

Maharishi University of Management Research Institute

Other Identifiers

DLF1008

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

NCT03232060

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: nct_alias