• Dounya Schoormans and Ivan Nyklíček.
• Department of Medical Psychology, Centre of Research on Psychology in Somatic Disease (CoRPS), Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands. d.schoormans@amc.uva.nl
• J Altern Complement Med. 2011 Jul 1; 17 (7): 629-34.

ObjectivesThis study examined whether practitioners of two meditation types differ on self-reported mindfulness skills and psychologic well-being.DesignThis was a cross-sectional study comparing two convenience meditation groups drawn from local meditation centers, one group practicing mindfulness meditation (MM), and the other practicing transcendental meditation (TM).Settings/LocationThe study was conducted at several meditation centers in southern Netherlands.SubjectsThirty-five (35) participants practiced MM (69% women) and 20 practiced TM (42% women).Outcome MeasuresParticipants completed questionnaires on mindfulness skills (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and two subscales from Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills), psychologic well-being (perceived stress, global mood, and quality of life), and meditation duration and frequency.ResultsAll self-reported mindfulness facets correlated with almost all measures of well-being across groups, but no differences were evident between meditation types regarding mindfulness or well-being. Days per week spent on meditation was the only multivariable predictor of both higher mindfulness and lower perceived stress.ConclusionsThe results suggest that self-reported mindfulness and psychologic well-being may be associated with meditation frequency rather than any potential differences when comparing MM and TM in this study. Note that substantial differences between MM and TM groups were present on basic demographics, which were controlled statistically.

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