The Influence of Mindfulness Meditation Retreat on Attention to Internal Experience

NCT ID: NCT04749264

Last Updated: 2023-02-14

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Total Enrollment: 142 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2020-08-01
• Study Completion Date: 2022-06-01

Brief Summary

Although attention is thought to have a definitive functional role in mindfulness meditation training and its salutary mechanisms of action, extant empirical evidence is mixed and limited. In the proposed study, we propose to test whether 6 to 7-days mindfulness meditation retreats (N=90), relative to a wait-list control condition (N=45), will impact internal attentional processes or attention to internal experience (e.g., thoughts and bodily sensations); and whether these internal attentional change processes predict salutary outcomes of mindfulness meditation retreats. Participants will complete tasks designed to measure attention to internal experience before and then immediately following the retreat, as well as self-report measures of salutary outcomes before and 2-weeks post-retreat. Matched controls will complete the tasks at parallel time-points in the lab.

Detailed Description

Broadly, the investigators first aim is to assess whether mindfulness meditation retreat will yield significant improvement at post-relative to pre-retreat, compared to matched control, in each of these internal attentional processes: (i) enhanced ability to disengage from negative self-referential thoughts; (ii) reduced selection bias to negative self-referential thoughts; (iii) enhanced interoceptive attention and sensibility to a broader range of locations, intensities and hedonic tones of bodily sensations in response to negative and neutral self-referential thoughts; as well as (iv) enhanced mindful awareness during mindfulness meditation as expressed in the objects and temporal dynamics of mindful awareness. Second, the investigators will assess whether each of the aforementioned internal attentional change processes from pre- to post-retreat, will predict change from pre- to 2-weeks post-retreat in mindful awareness in daily living, mindfulness-related processes (e.g., decentering), and mental health. Third, investigators will assess whether previous meditation experience moderates these effects.

Conditions

Attention Impaired; Cognitive Change; Mental Health Issue

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: CASE_CONTROL
• Study Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

Mindfulness Meditation Retreat

6 to 7-days mindfulness meditation retreat

Mindfulness meditation retreat

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

6 to 7-days mindfulness retreat (Vipassana/insight meditation). The retreats are held in silence and led by senior teachers with many years of experience in teaching meditation. The focus of the retreat is the practice of mindfulness meditation while sitting and walking. Retreats include focused attention and open monitoring mindfulness meditation practices. Each retreat has a similar practice schedule thus the amount and nature of formal practice is mostly the same.

No intervention, Matched control

Adults participants will be recruited from social media and local community of meditation practitioners, and will be matched to the retreat group by gender, age and level of experience in meditation.

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Mindfulness meditation retreat

6 to 7-days mindfulness retreat (Vipassana/insight meditation). The retreats are held in silence and led by senior teachers with many years of experience in teaching meditation. The focus of the retreat is the practice of mindfulness meditation while sitting and walking. Retreats include focused attention and open monitoring mindfulness meditation practices. Each retreat has a similar practice schedule thus the amount and nature of formal practice is mostly the same.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Retreat Group: Adults who register to participate in a 6 to 7-days mindfulness meditation retreats.
• Control Group: Adults participants will be recruited from social media and local community of meditation practitioners, and will be matched to the retreat group by gender, age and level of experience in meditation.

Exclusion Criteria

• Younger than 18 years-old and older than 65-years.
• Have first language other than Hebrew.
• Self-report lack of fluency in speaking or understanding Hebrew-language.
• Not having access to a computer and headphones with a microphone (for completing behavioral tasks).
• Participation in a retreat 1 month before the first primary outcomes assessment or during the weeks between the second primary outcomes assessment and the 2-weeks follow-up.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Haifa

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Amit Bernstein, Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Haifa

Locations

Amutat Tovana

Afula, , Israel

Countries

Israel

References

Hadash Y, Veksler T, Dar O, Oren-Schwartz R, Bernstein A. Peak experiences during insight mindfulness meditation retreats and their salutary and adverse impact: A prospective matched-controlled intervention study. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2024 Apr;92(4):213-225. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000875.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 38573713 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

TOVANA

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id