People who are more mindful tend to report less anger and aggression, and mindfulness training can reduce these responses. Four meta-analyses of 118 studies found small-to-medium inverse correlations between dispositional mindfulness and both anger (r = -0.23) and aggression (r = -0.19). In experimental studies, mindfulness-based interventions produced medium reductions in anger (d = -0.48) and aggression (d = -0.61) compared to control groups. Effects were largest in Asia and with passive control groups, and were similar across clinical, forensic, healthy, medical, and student populations. The findings suggest mindfulness training can help regulate anger and aggression in diverse groups, though more rigorous control groups are needed.
Meditation practices, which have shown therapeutic benefits for conditions like depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety, have been studied with neuroimaging over the past decade. However, existing neuroscientific models are based on small, heterogeneous datasets, limiting generalizability and replicability. The ENIGMA-Meditation consortium is the first worldwide collaborative effort to conduct systematic meta- and mega-analyses of globally distributed neuroimaging data using standardized methods. This framework aims to improve statistical power and address multidomain heterogeneity in meditation practice types, experience, and experimental design. The consortium will generate rigorous neuroscientific insights into the mechanisms underlying meditation's therapeutic effects on psychological and cognitive attributes.