experience with meditation reported higher levels of BA com-pared to those who did not. Mind-body therapies were associatedwith better recovery from pain.Contact: Wolf E. Mehling, [email protected]
P02.68Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Self-Rated Stress-related Measures: Improvements in Neuroticism andEcological Momentary Assessment of Stress
Barry Oken (1), Meghan Miller (2), Elena Goodrich (2), HelaneWahbeh (2)
(1) Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
Purpose: Mindfulness meditation (MM) has a beneficial effecton various self-rated measures related to chronic stress, but it isuncertain which are most useful. This study examined the impactof a MM intervention on several measures, including neuroti-cism, which is typically considered to be trait-dependent andpredisposes to many disease conditions. It also investigatedwhether ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is valuablefor stress-related measures.Methods: Participants were generally healthy, 50–85 yearsold, and at least moderately stressed (scores > 8 on the Per-ceived Stress Scale (PSS)). There were three testing visits, each7 weeks apart, and participants received a 6-week one-on-one intervention adapted from MBCT (Wahbeh et al, 2012)either between Visits 1 and 2 or between Visits 2 and 3. Par-ticipants who received the intervention directly after Visit 1continued meditating between Visits 2 and 3, and partici-pants who received the intervention post-Visit 2 served as awaitlist control. Outcome measures were the PSS, Positive andNegative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Center for EpidemiologicStudies Depression scale, neuroticism from the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five-Factor scale, and the non-judgmentaland awareness factors of the Mindful Attention AwarenessScale. Additionally, a 10-question PANAS was administered viaEMA using a smartphone at four time points over a 24-hourperiod, excluding sleep times.Results: 66 participants were randomized (mean age 60 years).There were 4 dropouts during MM training, 3 of which wereprior to Visit 2. Most stress-related measures were significantlyor nearly significantly affected by the MM intervention (all p’sless than 0.1) (ANCOVA: Visit 2 values dependent measure;Visit 1 values covariate). Of note, neuroticism was significantly(p = .014) affected, and the EMA PANAS was also sensitive tochange.Conclusion: Many stress-related measures improve with MMinterventions, and neuroticism may be particularly meaningful.Furthermore, EMA in participants’ natural environments maycomplement self-rated measures obtained in the research lab.Contact: Barry Oken, [email protected]
P02.69Teaching Mindfulness Meditation to Adultswith Severe Speech and Physical Impairments:An Exploratory Study
Elena Goodrich (1), Helane Wahbeh (2), Aimee Mooney (2),Meghan Miller (2), Barry Oken (2)
(1) Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
Purpose: Mindfulness meditation (MM) may positively impactfactors that are prevalent among persons with severe speech andphysical impairments (SSPI), including stress, depression,chronic pain, and sleep quality. The aims of this pilot study aretwofold: (1) describe the development, implementation andfeasibility of a MM intervention for use by clinicians treatingclients with SSPI; and (2) evaluate the feasibility of adminis-tering appropriate outcome measures.Methods: Participants with SSPI are defined by having speechthat is understood less than 25% of the time and/or severelyreduced hand function for writing/typing. They were recruitedfrom an ongoing brain-computer interface communicationstudy. The MM intervention was based on a previously reportedadaptation of MBCT (Wahbeh et al., 2012) and then modified toaccommodate SSPI. The six weekly MM trainings were con-ducted in a one-on-one format at participant residences. Theywere 90 minutes in length, and suggested home practice was 30–45 minutes per day using audio recordings.Results: 7 participants were studied (5 men; mean age 47 years;diagnoses included cerebral palsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,and brainstem hemorrhage). Participants meditated an averageof 10 minutes per day. Qualitative reports were overall verypositive; participants reported enhanced coping skills regardingpain, negative emotions, family stressors, boredom, and frus-tration with ventilation. While administration of the secondarymeasures was feasible, there were no significant pre-post resultsin this small sample size.Conclusion: MM trainings and home practice are feasible andpotentially beneficial for people with SSPI. Obstacles to teach-ing MM to this population are reported, and future solutions areproposed.Contact: Barry Oken, [email protected]
P02.70Perceived Benefit from Mindfulness Meditation inCombat Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Helane Wahbeh (1), Barry Oken (1)
(1) Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
Purpose: To evaluate perceived benefit from a six-week mind-fulness meditation intervention in combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Methods: In a recently completed controlled trial, 102 combatveterans with PTSD were randomized to one of four groups 1)mindfulness meditation (MM), 2) slowed breathing (SB), 3)mindfulness meditation and slowed breathing (MM + SB), or 4)sitting quietly (SQ). All participants had a one-on-one trainingsession each week for six weeks in the laboratory. Participants inthe MM and MM + SB groups listened to guided meditations.The SB group used a biofeedback device designed to aid inslowing the breathing rate. The SQ group listened to a book ontape. They were also asked to practice at home each day for 20minutes between sessions. After the intervention, participantscompleted the Patient Perception of Clinical Change question-naire which asks, ‘‘How much improvement in your clinicalsymptoms did you experience from the training?’’ and is self-rated on a 5-point Likert scale. They were also asked ‘‘Do youfeel you benefitted from the study?’’ and ‘‘Do you think yourPTSD symptoms improved from the study?’’Results: More participants in the mindfulness groups reportedminimally and much improved PTSD symptoms (MM 85%,MM + SB 78%, SB 44%, SQ 60%). The SQ and SB groups
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