Effectiveness of Anapanasati Meditation on Internal Locus of Control, Psychological Well-being, Resilience and Altruism Among Orphan Adolescents.

A three-month program of Anapanasati meditation improved internal locus of control, psychological well-being, resilience, and altruism among orphan adolescents in Pune, India. The study included 108 adolescents aged 13–17, equally divided between orphans living in institutions and non-orphans, with equal numbers of males and females. Significant changes appeared from the second month onward in the experimental group compared to the control group. The authors suggest that this low-cost, culturally non-intensive meditation technique can be practically applied in schools, orphanages, and residential care facilities, especially in resource-constrained settings.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Orphan adolescents face multiple vulnerabilities, including a lack of parental guidance, poor educational opportunities, socio-economic disadvantages and peer pressure, making them prone to unhealthy behaviours, risk-taking, anxiety and depression. Despite these challenges, they often exhibit resilience, though forming stable social bonds remains difficult. The use of Anapanasati meditation in orphanages is a low-cost, easy and convenient solution to facilitating holistic growth, encouraging positive psychosocial performance and enhancing internal locus of control. The objective of the current study was to find the effectiveness of Anapanasati meditation on the internal locus of control, psychological well-being, resilience and altruism among orphan adolescents. A sample of 108 adolescents (54 orphan and 54 non-orphan adolescents) comprising of equal number of male and female participants in the age group of 13-17 years was included in the study. Data was collected from orphan adolescents residing in institutions in Pune, Maharashtra. For the present study, t-test and Bonferroni and Holm's (post-hoc) were calculated. Cohen's d was also calculated to find the effect size of the intervention. There were significant changes in the experimental group compared to the control group. The three-month intervention was found to be effective from the second month onwards. The results of the current study indicate that meditation programmes can be practically applied in schools, orphanages and residential care facilities. Anapanasati meditation, which is relatively simple, economically and culturally non-intensive, seems particularly suitable in resource-restrained settings.