Health Outcomes and a New Index of Spiritual Experience

Authors
Jared D. Kass, Richard Friedman, Jane Leserman, Patricia C. Zuttermeister, Herbert Benson
Publication
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Vol. 30, No. 2 (Jun. 1991), pp. 203-211
Abstract

Clinical observations suggesting a relationship between spiritual experiences, life purpose and satisfaction, and improvements in physical health led to the development of an Index of Core Spiritual Experience (INSPIRIT). Data from 83 medical outpatients showed the INSPIRIT to have a strong degree of internal reliability and concurrent validity. Multiple regression analyses showed the INSPIRIT to be associated with: (1) increased life purpose and satisfaction, a health-promoting attitude; and (2) decreased frequency of medical symptoms.

Related Listings
The use of meditation--relaxation techniques fo...
Authors
P Carrington, G H Collings, Jr, H Benson, H Robinson, L W Wood, P M Lehrer, R L Woolfolk, J W Cole
Journal
J Occup Med
·
The efficacy of meditation-relaxation techniques has been widely researched in the laboratory, but their effectiveness for management of stress in organizational settings is still relatively unexplored. The present study compared relaxation and control conditions as part of a program of stress-reduction in industry. A total of 154 New York Telephone employees self-selected for stress learned one of three techniques--clinically standardized meditation (CSM), respiratory one method medi […]
Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: Evid...
Authors
Fadel Zeidan, Susan K. Johnson, Bruce J. Diamond, Zhanna David, Paula Goolkasian
Journal
Consciousness and Cognition
·
Although research has found that long-term mindfulness meditation practice promotes executive functioning and the ability to sustain attention, the effects of brief mindfulness meditation training have not been fully explored. We examined whether brief meditation training affects cognition and mood when compared to an active control group. After four sessions of either meditation training or listening to a recorded book, participants with no prior meditation experience were assessed w […]
The preoperative use of the relaxation response...
Authors
A D Domar, J M Noe, H Benson
Journal
Journal of Human Stress
·
The efficacy of the regular elicitation of the relaxation response in reducing surgical anxiety and pain in an ambulatory surgery setting was studied in a population of patients scheduled for the surgical removal of a skin cancer. Forty-nine patients with skin cancer were enrolled in the study immediately after being informed of the ned for surgery; 21 of these patients elicited the relaxation response 20 minutes per day until the day of surgery, 21 read for 20 minutes per day, and 7 […]