Who responds to meditation training? Examining predictors of self- and teacher-perceived effects of an 18-month randomised controlled trial

More time spent practicing meditation is linked to greater perceived benefits from training, according to a study of 90 healthy older adults aged 65-84 who took part in an 18-month meditation program or a language training program. Higher engagement, measured as hours of formal practice, was the only factor associated with higher ratings of responsiveness by participants and teachers, including measures of connection, emotions, and meta-awareness during sessions and in daily life. Baseline traits like sex, education, personality, and cognition did not predict responsiveness. The findings suggest that adherence and practice time are key to perceived intervention effects, and future studies should track engagement and reasons for disengagement.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Understanding the factors that predict why some individuals perceive to respond more to meditation training than others could impact the development, efficacy, adherence levels, and implementation of meditation-based interventions. We investigated individual-level variables associated with self- and teacher-perceived responsiveness to longer-term meditation training. This study presents a secondary analysis of the Age-Well trial (NCT02977819) and includes 90 healthy older adults (65-84 years) that were randomised to an 18-month meditation training or a non-native language (English) training. Responsiveness was measured post-intervention using participants’ and teachers’ ratings of four psychological domains (connection, positive/negative emotions, meta-awareness) in relation to two contexts (during sessions, in daily life), teachers’ perception of overall benefit, and a global composite comprising all self- and teacher-perceived responsiveness measures. Linear regression modelling indicates that, when including baseline variables (sex, education, neuroticism, cognition, expectancy) and engagement (hours of formal practice during intervention), only higher levels of engagement were associated with higher global composite scores (standardised estimate=0.50, 95% CI: 0.24-0.77, p<0.001). Global composite scores were not correlated with pre-post changes in well-being. Findings indicate that more time spent practising meditation was related to greater perceived intervention effects. We suggest that future studies closely monitor levels of engagement and map reasons for disengagement.