Perceived Barriers to Meditation Among College Students: The Role of Personality Traits

Abstract

Background: Meditation is likely to be a useful intervention for anxiety and depression, and is increasingly common as a clinical intervention and informal practice among university students. However, meditation dropout rates are high, and it is likely that perceived barriers to meditation play a role. While neuroticism is known to predict dropout, there has been no study relating personality traits to these barriers.Aim: To better understand the barriers to meditation practice that university students experience.Methods: We used online survey data to analyze the relationship between personality traits, whether students practice meditation, time spent on academic and other work, and university students’ perception of barriers to meditation.Results: We found a nonlinear relationship between neuroticism and perceived barriers; the number of perceived barriers increased with increased neuroticism but eventually flattened out. Participants who meditate perceive more barriers than those who do not. We found no relationship between time spent in other activities and perception of barriers.Conclusions: Those students who would benefit most from meditation may have the most trouble continuing. Clinicians applying meditation as an intervention in a university setting should be ready to work with students on barriers to practice.

Generating inclusive services for children, youth and families: A shift to using complex systems theory

“…While some statistical approaches can help identify non‐linear systems (e.g. Whitford & Warren, 2019; Wolf‐Branigin, 2013), other approaches may be better‐suited to studying non‐linear phenomena. Common techniques used to examine CAS include machine learning, geographic information systems (GIS), social network analysis and computer simulation models (Cioffi‐Revilla, 2010; Furtado & Sakowski, 2015; Morçöl, 2013).…”

Predictors of Out-of-Class Mindfulness Practice Adherence During and After a Mindfulness-Based Intervention

“…(18,19)) have been shown to predict MRA, such that conscientiousness and agreeableness are positively related to MRA, whereas neuroticism is negatively related to MRA (20,21). Neuroticism has also been linked to the perception of greater barriers to meditation (22). One study using personality to predict the frequency of engagement in MBSR activities both during and after the intervention found that openness and agreeableness were significant predictors (23).…”

“…The openness subscale (10 items; pre, post, 3-month: α = .79, .77, .82) measures traits such as curious, imaginative, artistic, wide interests, excitable, and unconventional. The extraversion scale was not included in analysis because of a lack of association with MRA in previous studies (20)(21)(22)(23).…”

“…Mindfulness meditation has been used as a treatment in the medical community for a few decades now; however, very few studies have examined possible predictors of treatment adherence (22)(23)(24). To improve MRA, and more specifically, mindfulness meditation adherence, it is necessary to understand what causes people to engage with mindfulness meditation and what keeps people practicing mindfulness meditation.…”

Social Cognitions and Mental Health as Predictors of Adolescents’ Mindfulness Practice

“…People with mental health problems (e.g., depression) may feel helpless, i.e., that there is nothing that can be done to improve their mental health (Seligman 1974), which may hinder uptake of mindfulness practice. Indeed, quantitative studies have found that various mental health problems are associated with meditation program attrition or perceived barriers to meditation (Banerjee et al 2018;Crane and Williams 2010;Delmonte 1980Delmonte , 1984Delmonte , 1988Whitford and Warren 2019;Williams et al 2012;Williams et al 1976). Other studies have found that intention or practice itself is not associated with severity of problems (Bistricky et al 2018;Rizer et al 2016).…”