<p> Despite the availability of various substance abuse treatments, substance misuse and the negative consequences associated with it remain a serious problem in our society. Various types of meditation have been evaluated for treatment of substance use disorders, but the research has not drawn any specific conclusions. This may be due to lack of both an equivalent control group and spiritual emphasis. Therefore, the current study included a spiritual emphasis (12-steps) and inner eye concentrative meditation (n=15), a progressive relaxation group (n=10), and a treatment-as-usual control (TAU) group (n=21). Subjects at an intensive outpatient treatment center for substance use disorder were offered either progressive muscle relaxation, raja yoga meditation, or TAU, depending on which branch of the treatment center they were receiving treatment. The meditation technique was a simple meditation technique where the attention of focus remains on the point between the eyebrows. The current study examined changes in substance use, general psychological distress and dysfunction, craving, and 12-step involvement between the three conditions over a 6-week period. Compared to the average of all groups meditation was significant in predicting abstinence from substances, ?2 (2) = 6.39, p = .0115. This finding gives some credence to spirituality being a protective factor against substance use, and suggests the benefits of using non-secular meditations in drug treatment facilities.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10002458 |
| Date | 28 January 2016 |
| Creators | Mallik, Debesh |
| Publisher | University of Louisiana at Lafayette |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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