Am J Psychiatry 1980; 137:1229-1221
Copyright © 1980 by American Psychiatric Association
Transcendental meditation verus muscle relaxation: two-year follow-up of a controlled experiment
DC Zuroff and JC Schwarz
In this questionnaire survey the authors measured the outcome among 20
students randomly assigned to muscle relaxation training and 19 assigned to
transcendental mediatation at one year (the number of respondents in each
group was 13 and 16, respectively) and two and one- half years (the number
of respondents was 18 and 17, respectively). At both follow-ups there were
no differences between the groups in frequency of practice or satisfaction.
In both groups, less than 25% reported more than moderate satisfaction, and
less than 20% practices as mush as once per week. Subjects' expectancies at
nine weeks predicted their satisfaction and frequency of practice at two
and on- half years. The authors conclude that although some subjects
(15%-20%) to enjoy and continue to practice transcendental meditation, it
is not universally beneficial.
