Meditation as an adjunct to a happiness enhancement program
W P Smith1, W C Compton, W B West
1Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro 37132, USA.
Journal of Clinical Psychology
|March 1, 1995
Summary
Adding meditation to the Personal Happiness Enhancement Program (PHEP) significantly boosted happiness and reduced depression and anxiety. The PHEP alone also improved well-being compared to no intervention.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Mental Health
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Fordyce's Personal Happiness Enhancement Program (PHEP) is a structured intervention designed to increase happiness.
- The efficacy of PHEP has been studied, but the impact of integrating complementary practices like meditation is less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the added impact of meditation on Fordyce's Personal Happiness Enhancement Program (PHEP).
- To compare the effectiveness of PHEP with meditation versus PHEP alone and a control group.
Main Methods:
- Three groups participated: PHEP with meditation, PHEP only, and a control group.
- Participants completed pre- and post-intervention assessments using measures of happiness, psychological inventory, depression, and anxiety.
- Statistical analysis involved three (groups) x two (pre-post) mixed ANOVAs with Student-Newman-Keuls post-hoc tests.
Main Results:
- The group receiving PHEP plus meditation showed significant improvements across all measured outcomes (happiness, psychap, depression, anxiety).
- The PHEP-only group demonstrated significant improvements over the control group in most measures, excluding state anxiety.
- The meditation plus PHEP group outperformed both the PHEP-only group and the control group.
Conclusions:
- Integrating meditation with the Personal Happiness Enhancement Program (PHEP) enhances its positive effects on psychological well-being.
- Meditation serves as a valuable adjunct to PHEP, amplifying benefits in happiness, depression, and anxiety.
- PHEP alone is effective in improving psychological well-being, but meditation further optimizes outcomes.
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