None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This study aims to examine the effects of a brief mindfulness meditation induction and a mindfulness meditation training intervention on neural correlates of attention (as measured by event-related potential components and EEG spectral activity) and measures of anxiety in young adults with high levels of anxiety and minimal meditation experience. A secondary aim is to identify individual characteristics related to attention changes, engagement/adherence to the intervention, and psychological outcomes (i.e., anxiety, other measures of wellbeing). Improvements in attention processes and reductions in anxiety are expected.
Interventions
Participants will be randomised to either a mindfulness meditation or relaxation (active control condition) training intervention. The intervention training will occur over a three-week period (daily exercises or at least 5 separate sessions a week) via a mobile phone app using a mobile phone device in the home setting (averaging 15 mins per day). Participants will have a choice of using their own mobile phone (if compatible), otherwise a mobile phone will be provided for loan by the researchers
Participants will be randomised to either a mindfulness meditation or relaxation (active control condition) training intervention. The intervention training will occur over a three-week period (daily exercises or at least 5 separate sessions a week) via a mobile phone app using a mobile phone device in the home setting (averaging 15 mins per day). Participants will have a choice of using their own mobile phone (if compatible), otherwise a mobile phone will be provided for loan by the researchers. Adherence will be determined through mobile phone app usage data, provided directly from the phone apps. In addition, participants will be asked to tick if they completed assigned exercises on a hardcopy form. The mindfulness meditation training intervention will be delivered by the free mobile phone app ‘Smiling Mind©’. This app contains folders of brief audio recordings of mindfulness meditation exercises (e.g., ‘mindfulness of the breath’, ‘body scan’). Participants will be given instructions on the order of exercises to follow. Exercises assigned for practice on a given day will range from around 10-20 minutes of practice. It is estimated that the average amount of practice assigned per day will be approximately 15 minutes. Both groups will also receive a mindfulness meditation induction at the pre- and post-intervention experimental sessions. This will include a 10-minute mindful breathing exercise. This will be delivered through a guided ‘mindfulness of the breath’ audio recording freely available on the Centre for Clinical Interventions website (CCI©, Government of Western Australia, 2021). This exercise guides listeners to build awareness of their breathing, notice when their mind wanders, and redirect their attention with a non-judgemental attitude.
Sponsors
University of Tasmania
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Participants will be screened for inclusion/exclusion using an online screening questionnaire. Females and males aged 18-35 years with high (>10) generalised anxiety symptoms over the past two weeks (GAD-7; Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, & Lowe, 2006) will be included. Participants with low meditation and relaxation experience (no more than 15 minutes during an average week over the past year, and less than 20 hours in total over their lifetime), with the exception of movement-based practices (e.g., Tai Chi, yoga for exercise), will be selected based on their responses to a customised meditation / relaxation experience questionnaire. Participants will have normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing, so they are able to see the stimuli and hear instructions clearly. In addition, all participants will need to speak English as a first language and be able to read English fluently so that they can accurately read words in the Stroop task.
Exclusion criteria
Standard exclusion criteria for EEG/ERP research will also apply, so that any differences in brain activity are not attributable to other factors. These exclusion criteria include: any history of psychiatric (other than depressive or anxiety disorder) or neurological disorders (including epilepsy), severe head injury, seizure, giddiness or loss of consciousness (>2 mins), a heart condition or any other serious physical condition, current daily tobacco use, recent history of illicit drug use (no more than six occasions in the last six months), current use of prescription medications (excluding the contraceptive pill or antidepressant medication), current sleep disorders, and pregnancy/breast feeding or a high likelihood of pregnancy. Those who report colour blindness will also be excluded as participants will need to be able to distinguish colours to complete the Stroop task. Those with risk of alcohol dependence (scores greater than 16 on the Alcohol Use and Disorders Identification Test; AUDIT; Babor, Higgins-Biddle, Saunders, & Monteiro, 2001) will also be excluded. As the relaxation condition involves deep breathing exercises which can lead to light headedness if not done properly, participants who indicate they have low blood pressure, giddiness or asthma, will need to indicate that this is currently managed in order to participate.
Outcome results
None listed