Do early experiences matter? Development of an Early Meditation Hindrances Scale linked to novice meditators’ intention to persist.

Abstract

Recent media reports about health benefits of meditation have led previously naïve populations to seek meditation opportunities in highly variable settings, creating potential for difficult or frustrating experiences and abandonment of further meditation efforts. Unpleasant experiences may exacerbate attrition challenges already present in meditation research, creating negative associations that prevent persistence. This article explores early meditation experiences through the development and preliminary validation of the Early Meditation Hindrances instrument. Items based on the 5 meditation hindrances described in Theravadic texts were generated and statistically reduced by testing for dimensionality. Analyses across Sample 1 (n ϭ 508) and Sample 2 (n ϭ 367) identified 3 consistent factors based on 12 items. The resulting model fits the data well; these factors explained more than half of the variance in intention to persist. Limitations are the retrospective single-survey design and the self-report dependent measure. Consistent results across samples, strong fit of the model with the data, and its relationship with intentions to continue to meditate support strength of the instrument. The Early Meditation Hindrances may be useful for: guiding approaches that reduce attrition in meditation studies, measuring individuals' subjective meditation experience during sessions in which physiological data are gathered, and helping meditation teachers wishing to tailor instruction for individuals and classes. Implications about the setting in which the meditation takes place are examined, and future research needs are described.

Mindfulness meditation experiences of novice practitioners in an online intervention: Trajectories, predictors, and challenges

“…Meaning was also positively associated with adherence (i.e., the number of daily reports submitted by participants). This is in line with the findings showing that (lack of) perceived benefits of meditation is a strong predictor of intention to persist in the practice (Russ et al, 2017).…”

“…Studies with a specific focus on adherence indicate that predictors of attrition from mindfulness interventions include younger age, higher cognitive reactivity to negative affect, higher rumination, and worry (Banerjee et al, 2018; Crane & Williams, 2010). Adherence and intention to practice are associated with beliefs about the usefulness of meditation practice, outcome expectations, and one's perceived ability to engage in mindfulness meditation (Beattie et al, 2020; Russ et al, 2017). Studies using personality traits typically find that attrition and perceived barriers to meditation are predicted by higher neuroticism, as well as lower openness and lower cognitive flexibility (Stanley et al, 2011; Williams et al, 2012).…”

Design and Implementation of a Brief Digital Mindfulness and Compassion Training App for Health Care Professionals: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Indeed, auditory feedback during focused attention meditation has been shown to improve state mindfulness [ 83 ]. Notably, in large sample surveys of perceived barriers to meditation across hundreds of participants, a lack of individualized feedback and progress tracking have been prominently cited as important hindrances [ 84 , 85 ]. WellMind was designed to remove these barriers and, hence, motivate training.…”

Brief meditation interventions: Mindfulness, implementation instructions, and lovingkindness.

“…Measures. We assessed participants on well-validated measures previous researchers found to be positively impacted by mindfulness meditation: Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II, Bond et al, 2011), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996), Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ; Devilly & Borkovec, 2000), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004), Dispositional Resilience Scale-15 (DRS-15; Bartone, 2007), Dissociative Experiences Scale-II (DES-II; Bernstein & Putnam, 1986), Early Meditation Hindrances Scale (EMH; Russ, Maruyama, Sease, & Jellema, 2017), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006), Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 (MFI-20;Smets, Garssen, Bonke, & De Haes, 1995), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI; Buysse, Reynolds, Monk, Berman, & Kupfer, 1989), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988), State of Surrender Scale (SOS; Russ & Elliott, 2017), State Scale of Dissociation (SSD; Krüger & Mace, 2002), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger & Sydeman, 1994).…”