ABSTRACT
In a 6-month double-blind study, 49 anxious college student volunteers were assigned to transcendental meditation (TM) and 51 to a control treatment, periodic somatic inactivity (PSI). The control treatment was carefully designed to match the form, complexity, and expectation-fostering aspects of TM, but it incorporated an exercise that involved sitting erect with eyes closed twice daily rather than sitting and meditating. For each treatment 30 demographic and pretest personality variables were correlated with continuation in treatment and outcome defined in terms of trait anxiety change scores. As predicted, the TM dropout was more disturbed and less self-critical than the person who continued meditating. For TM, outcome correlated significantly with anxiety, Sizothymia (16 Personality Factor Questionnaire, Factor A), and Autia (16 Personality Factor Questionnaire, Factor M). Contrary to what was predicted, there was virtually no overlap between the variables correlated with continuation and outcome for TM and for PSI. It is concluded that differing treatment rationales rendered the treatments appealing, credible, and effective for different types of individuals.
