A Comparison of Adult Responses to the Use of Mantra, Mindfulness, and Spiritual Meditation as a Stress Management Tool

摘要

Complementary and alternative medicine modalities of meditation have been researched as a method to alleviate stress. No studies have determined if self-reported chronic disease status, sex, geographic location and the use of either mantra, mindfulness or spiritual meditation influence self-reported stress levels. The purpose of this study was to analyze data collected from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey and its Adult Alternative and Complementary Medicine supplement on mantra, mindfulness, and spiritual meditation use as reported by 781 adult participants. Multinomial logistic models were used to test whether people with chronic conditions were more likely to use one type of meditation over another and if chronic condition, region, and use rate were significant at a statistical level. Identifying which meditative methods are used most often by people who self-report either being stressed or not stressed and who self-report either having or not having a chronic condition may make a difference to health educators when customizing stress management programs.