Paper
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
This presentation is part of : Interventions to Increase Spiritual Competencies
The Effect of Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation on Conservative Versus Liberal Religious Beliefs and Secretory Immunoglobulin A in Saliva in Tension Headache Patients
Dana R. Rosdahl, PhD, FNP, College of Nursing, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

This research study sought to answer if one's religious belief can influence the effect of a Buddhist mind-body intervention in a specific patient population. Individuals with tension headaches were categorized according to religious belief, Christian (conservative vs. liberal), Non-Christian and Other. Two research questions were examined: (1) Is there differences in spiritual practices and religious belief over time between the intervention and comparison groups and (2) Is there differences in salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and religious belief over time between groups? A mixed pre-/post-experimental design with pre-/post-longitudinal measurements was used to examine this question. The sample consisted of 50 women and 14 men with tension headaches, aged 18–70; 34 were randomly assigned to an intervention group and 30 to a comparison group. Intervention participants received an 8-week Buddhist mindfulness meditation class, 2 hours a week. Comparison participants received an 8-week educational class in headaches, 1˝ hours a week. Pre- and post-testing measurements were obtained on spiritual practices and sIgA. Analysis results, using univariate repeated measures ANOVAs indicated (1) a statistically significant mean difference for spiritual practices by religious belief at post-test and (2) a statistically significant mean difference for the dependent variable of sIgA by religious belief at post-test with the intervention group to have a higher post-treatment sIgA level than the comparison group. Within the intervention group the liberal Christians and non-Christians had a greater increase in sIgA than conservative Christians. Conservative Christians were unable to experience the immune enhancing effect of a Buddhist mindfulness intervention. This research study validated the necessity of spiritual congruence.