Brief Mindfulness Meditation Training in Smokers
Abstract
Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Despite the availability of efficacious pharmacological and behavioral treatments, 85% of quit attempts end in failure. Mindfulness meditation training may be useful in smoking cessation. This study was a parallel group randomized controlled trial of a brief mindfulness meditation (Brief-MM) intervention delivered to smokers on a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) in the field. Adult community smokers (N = 44) were randomly assigned to a Brief-MM (n = 24) or Control (sham meditation training; n = 20) group. All participants carried a PDA for two weeks and were instructed to initiate 20 minutes of meditation (or control) training on the PDA once per day and to complete an assessment of cognitive and affective processes immediately afterwards. Additionally, they were prompted to complete assessments at random times up to four times per day. Smokers were instructed to smoke as much or as little as they liked during the study. Thirty-two participants (Brief-MM = 18; Control =14) completed the study; 37 participants provided at least one EMA data point and completed in total 1874 assessments. Brief-MM was determined to be feasible and acceptable with 82.87% (95% CI [71.19%, 94.55%]) adherence to home meditation practice. Linear mixed model (LMM) analyses revealed that Brief-MM increased state, but not trait, mindfulness over time. LMMs also indicated that Brief-MM reduced cigarettes smoked per day over time more than the Control group (Group xDay interaction, F [1, 436] = 6.02, PE = -0.30, SE = 0.12, p = .01); reduced craving post-meditation, Group x Assessment Type interaction (F [2, 1728] = 5.78, PE =0.80, SE = 0.26, p = .003); and reduced negative affect (F [1, 1728] = 15.7, PE = -2.93, SE = 0.74, p < .001). Hypothesized changes to positive affect, a decentered perspective, and attentional bias were not supported.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 11, 2013
- Accession Number
- AD1013049
Entities
People
- Aimee C. Ruscio
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences