The Effects and Mechanisms of Brief Mindfulness Meditation and Hypnosis for Pain

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The aim of this study is to determine the effects and mechanisms of 1 x 20-min training in mindfulness meditation and self-hypnosis relative to an inert control. Participants will be randomly assigned to condition. The dual primary outcomes will be pre- to post-training changes in current pain intensity and pain unpleasantness. The active treatments are hypothesized to produce greater reductions in pain outcomes than the control. It is also hypothesized that change in mindfulness will be a mediator specific to mindfulness meditation, while change in affect and decentering will be mediators of the hypnosis condition. Moderators of response will also be explored.

Official Title
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The Effects and Mechanisms of Brief Training in Mindfulness Meditation and Hypnosis for Pain Management, Relative to an Inert Control

Conditions
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Pain, Chronic Pain

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation
* Behavioral: Self-hypnosis
* Other: Attention Control


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Must be 18 years of age; Experience chronic or recurrent pain; Have access to a computer, phone or tablet with internet capability; and Be able to read and understand English.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Single-blind, three-arm, parallel-group randomized design
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Mindfulness meditation<br>Participants in the mindfulness meditation condition will practice one, 20-minute breath and body focused meditation. | Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation<br>* Participants in the mindfulness meditation condition will listen to a 20minute guided mindfulness meditation practice that holds the breath and body as the object of meditation.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Self-Hypnosis<br>Participants in self-hypnosis will practice one, 20-minute audio-guided hypnosis session with suggestions tailored towards enhancing positive affect and fostering decentering. | Behavioral: Self-hypnosis<br>* Participants in self-hypnosis will listen to a 20-minute audio-guided hypnosis practice with an induction phase, followed by suggestions tailored towards shifts in affect and decentering, and then a re-alerting with post-hypnotic suggestions phase.<br>|
| Other: Control<br>Participants in the attention control condition will listen to a 20-minute natural history recording. | Other: Attention Control<br>* Control participants will listen to a 20-minute natural history recording which was chosen as past research has found that individuals who listen to it report this to be a neutral, but relaxing passage, and it has been used as an effective control condition in previous research.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Current pain intensity | Numerical rating scale ranging from 0-10 | Change from pre- (Time 1; start of survey) to post-20-min training (Time 2; following completion of the one, 20-min training) | 
| Current pain unpleasantness | Numerical rating scale ranging from 0-10 | Change from pre- (Time 1; start of survey) to post-20-min training (Time 2; following completion of the one, 20-min training) | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mechanism: Mindfulness | State Mindfulness Scale with items ranging from 1-5 | Change from pre- (Time 1; start of survey) to post-20-min training (Time 2; following completion of the one, 20-min training) | 
| Mechanism: Positive Affect | PANAS-X | Change from pre- (Time 1; start of survey) to post-20-min training (Time 2; following completion of the one, 20-min training) | 
| Mechanism: Decentering | State decentering MpoD-s | Change from pre- (Time 1; start of survey) to post-20-min training (Time 2; following completion of the one, 20-min training) |