The Effects of the Transcendental Meditation Program on Anxiety, Drug Abuse, Cigarette Smoking, and Alcohol Consumption

Changes in anxiety, drug abuse, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption were examined in people practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique. In one study, employing Campbell and Stanley's Recurrent Institutional Cycle Design, the !PAT Anxiety Scale Questionnaire was administered to members of an experimental group (N = 11) shortly before and again four weeks after they received instruction in the Transcendental Meditation technique. The group's mean anxiety score decreased significantly ( p < .05) from the 80th to the 66th population percentile. The mean posttest score (corresponding to the 50th percentile) of a second group of four-week meditators (N = 12) was also significantly lower than the mean pretest score of the first group ( p < .05) and was insignificantly different from their mean posttest score.