DOI: 10.3886/e137281v1
title: Implications of Tamarkoz Method of Meditation on Stress, Emotion, Spirituality and Heart Rate

description: Perceived stress among university students is a prevalent health issue directly correlated with poor academic performance, compromised physical and mental health, high risk of substance abuse, and suicidal ideation. The rate of college students diagnosed with depression has increased, and there is high prevalence of anxiety among them. College and university students' stress, depression and anxiety are a neglected global public health issue which has significantly negative impact on students’ quality of life. High tension and stress make university students at risk for feelings of hopelessness and poor sleep quality, which can lead to illicit drug use. Non-medical use of prescription stimulants such as Adderall, Ritalin and Vyvanse are widespread and common in university students to enhance their academic performance. With the rise in mental health concerns associated with distress among college and university students, and the increase in demand for counseling services, it is necessary to implement stress reduction programs on campuses. Spirituality and positive emotions have profound, positive impacts on health and reduce perceived stress. A national survey of college students indicated that over 80% have interest in spiritual development. Tamarkoz® is the art of self-knowledge through concentration and meditation that is unique to M.T.O. Shahmaghsoudi®, School of Islamic Sufism®. It is required to be approved by the Sufi Master of M.T.O. Shahmaghsoudi® to teach the Tamarkoz® method of meditation. It is a method of concentration that can be applied to any task. Tamarkoz incorporates physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of an individual. The method is said to discipline the mind, body, and emotions to avoid unintended distractions. Therefore, it can be used in daily life activities, such as studying, eating, driving, de-stressing or in Sufism, seeking self-knowledge. This study was an 18-week quasi-experimental design with pre-intervention, post-intervention and follow-up assessments in the experimental group, a wait-list control, and a third group that utilized the campus health center’s stress management resources. Participants, university students, had no prior exposure to Tamarkoz, and there were no statistically significant differences among groups on baseline measurements. Using a generalized linear mixed model, significant increases in positive emotion and daily spiritual experiences, and significant reductions in perceived stress and heart rate were found in the experimental group compared to the other two groups. Tamarkoz seems to show some advantages over the usual stress management resources offered by a student health center.
description: Response Rates: An a priori power analysis was determined by G*Power software (Faul, Erdfelder, Lang, & Buchner, 2007). The statistical test used in G*Power was a repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance with three groups. By using a medium effect size (f = 0.25), power of 80%, three measurements and α = .05 based on Cohen’s (1992) estimation, a total sample size of 98 participants was determined. In order to have a big enough sample to allow for 20 percent attrition, author aimed to recruit 120 total participants for this study with 40 people in each group. The medium effect size was justified as this was an experimental study and according to Cohen’s Tables (1992), such studies can assume moderate to large effect sizes. Furthermore, a meta-analysis of 163 studies on the psychological effects of meditation exhibited strong results with medium to large effect sizes (Sedlmeier et al., 2012). The number of groups in our research were three and the number of measurements were three. 124 people were assessed for eligibility in the study. 1 person was excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria. 10 people who were eligible refused to participate. 8 people dropped from the study for unknown reasons. 103 people total participated in pretest. 95 people total participated in posttest at 12 weeks from pretest, which was a 92% response rate from the pretest. 94 people total participated in the follow-up at 18 weeks from pretest, which was a 91% response rate from the pretest.
description: Presence of Common Scales: The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale was used and responses ranged from 1 to 5 with 1 being never and 5 being very often.<br><br>The 38-item Dispositional Positive Emotions Scale was used with responses that ranged from 1 strongly agree to 7 strongly disagree.<br><br>The 16-item Daily Spiritual Experience Scale was used with responses that ranged from 1 many times a day to 6 never.<br><br>Blood pressure and heart rate measurements were taken with an Omron 10 Plus Series Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor, which is a validated instrument approved and recommended by dabl® Educational Trust for accuracy, and suitability for measurement. Three measurements were taken with thirty second pause between, then these three were averaged<br><br><br>
description: A quasi-experimental design was used with pretest-posttest and follow-up assessments in the experimental group, a wait-list control, and a third group that utilized the campus health center’s stress management resources. Flyers were posted throughout the university campus, provided to student organizations during orientation, and provided to the campus student health center for posting at their stress management resource center. The intervention group was recruited from the Tamarkoz® class for only first-time Tamarkoz students. The waitlist control group was recruited from the waitlist of the Tamarkoz class and other students who wanted to enroll into the class. <br>
description: University students between the age of 18-30 years who do not work third shifts, and not have diabetes, post-traumatic stress disorder, liver disease, autoimmune diseases, or severe psychiatric disorders (e.g., severe depression that resists treatment or impacts ability to function; schizophrenia).. Smallest Geographic Unit: University students in Northern California
description: other; web-based survey;