The effect of meditation on physical and mental health in junior college students: a quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Physical stress and mental stress are
increasingly common phenomena in our rapidly changing and stressful modern
society. Research has found meditation to produce positive and demonstrable
stress reduction effects on brain and immune functions. This study is grounded
in traditional Chinese philosophical mores that teach a process summarized by
the keynote activities of \"calm, still, quiet, consider, and get\" and
the potential of this process to reduce stress in adolescents. PURPOSE: The
purpose of this study was to examine the effects of meditation on the physical
and mental health of junior college students. METHODS: This research employed a
quasi-experimental design. Participants included 242 freshmen from a junior
college in Taiwan
selected using a convenience sampling technique. Participants were then
randomly separated into experimental (n = 119) and control (n = 123) groups.
The project duration was 18 weeks, during which the experimental group received
2 hours of meditation treatment per week, for a total of 36 hours. Both groups
completed pretest and posttest Life Adaptation Scale forms, which included
questionnaires addressing information on physical and mental distress and
positive and negative coping strategies. Data were analyzed using analysis of
covariance. RESULTS: Findings showed that the effect of the experiment
treatment was significant when student physical and mental distress pretest
scores were controlled. Physical and mental symptoms in the experimental group
were lower than those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Meditation can help
students to adapt to life stressors. This study also provides support for
traditional Chinese wisdom, which promotes meditation as one way to improve
health.