Abstract
Objectives
The purpose of this paper is to present research findings on the effects of mindfulness meditation training on four weekly self-report measures among three groups: those receiving training delivered in-person (M-IP) or in a virtual world (M-VW), and a waitlist control group (WLC).
Methods
Participants (n = 191) were US military active duty service members and veterans. The M-IP and M-VW groups reported their stress, energy, pain, and sleepiness before/after each mindfulness training class, while the control group answered the same questions once a week for the 8-week duration of training.
Results
The M-IP and M-VW groups showed greater reductions in stress over the 8 weeks than the control group (1.70, 0.80, and 0.30 points, respectively; p = .028). Meaningful improvements (> 20%) pre- to post-training were seen for stress, pain, and sleepiness in the M-IP group, for pain only in the VW group, and for none in the WLC group. Those experiencing high levels of stress or pain before training experienced reductions in their stress or pain post mindfulness training, while those with lower initial levels did not (p < .001). Within class improvements were seen for both intervention groups; however, improvements were greater for those attending M-IP for energy, pain, and sleepiness (p < .034).
Conclusions
In-person mindfulness training yielded statistically and meaningfully superior results; however, both IP and VW delivery methods were effective in reducing stress among healthy US military active duty and veteran participants. Mindfulness was particularly helpful for those experiencing initially high levels of stress or pain.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the US active duty and veteran service members who chose to volunteer their time to participate in this study. We also thank the creators of the virtual world second life environment and programs, Jackie Morie and All These Worlds, Inc.; our virtual world instructors Dr. Steve Hickman and Allan Goldstein, and colleagues Gary Boykin, Angela Jeter, Jessica Villarreal, Cory Overby, Leah Enders, and Mariah Tree for their integral assistance with this research.
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VJR: designed and executed the study, served as the PI, and wrote the paper. BL: contributed to the initial data analysis and writing the paper. SCA: analyzed the data and wrote the results. PJS: collaborated in the writing and editing of the final manuscript.
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The study was approved by the San Antonio Military Medical Center Institutional Review Board and was performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. All of the participants provided their written informed consent before participating in the study.
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Rice, V.J., Liu, B., Allison, S.C. et al. Mindfulness Training Offered In-person and in a Virtual World—Weekly Self-reports of Stress, Energy, Pain, and Sleepiness among US Military Active Duty and Veteran Personnel. Mindfulness 10, 1815–1827 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01129-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01129-3