A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation in Prison
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology August 28, 2015 Katherine M. Auty, Aiden Cope, Alison Liebling 194 citations
A systematic review and two meta-analyses of prison yoga and meditation programs found that participants who completed such programs showed small improvements in psychological well-being (Cohen's d = 0.46) and behavioral functioning (Cohen's d = 0.30). Programs of longer duration and lower intensity had a slightly larger effect on psychological well-being than shorter, more intensive ones. For behavioral functioning, longer programs also had a marginally larger effect (d = 0.424) compared to intensive ones (d = 0.418). The evidence suggests yoga and meditation have favorable effects on prisoners.