María Nazareth Mora-Arias,
Lízbeth Solano-Alpízar, Bradly Marín-Picado,
Jorge Esteban Prado-Calderón
Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica

 

Abstract

Because privation of liberty in jail aff ects health, a group meditation process with prisoners was implemented at the Jorge Arturo Montero Castro Institutional Care Center, in Costa Rica, to help cope with imprisonment. Due to gaps in the scientific approach to meditation effectiveness with prisoners in Costa Rica, a mixed method using convergence design and triangulation was carried out. A quantitative evaluation was made to ascertain if the meditation process generated changes in participant stress levels. A pretest–posttest experimental design with a wait-list control group was used. The sample was 32 men (16 in each group). A qualitative evaluation was made to explore how the intervention influenced coping in participants. Multiple case study design was used. Intentional sampling was performed, which resulted in working with 16 men of the meditation process group. Additionally, instructions, contents and design of the intervention were reviewed. Quantitatively, there were no differences between experimental group and control group on stress levels after the intervention; however, in the experimental group there was a significant diff erence in the cognitive subscale (F (1, 15) = 5.01, p = .04). Qualitatively, participants expressed that they began to use strategies like self-control, positive reevaluation and taking distance from the situation. Finally, strengths were recognized in the intervention, but also that there was room for improvement in order to maximize benefits.

Keywords: Imprisonment, Meditation, Health Psychology, Environment, Stress, Coping

 

Access

References

Auty, K. M., Cope, A., & Liebling, A. (2017). A systematic review and meta-analysis of yoga and mindfulness meditation in prison: Effects on psychological well-being and behavioural functioning. International Journal of Off ender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 61(6), 689-710. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X15602514

Barnert, E. S., Himelstein, S., Herbert, S., Garcia-Romeu, A., & Chamberlain, L. J. (2014). Exploring an intensive meditation intervention for incarcerated youth. Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 19(1), 69-73. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12019

Belgrave, L., & Seide, K. (2019). Coding for grounded theory. En A. Bryant & K. Charmaz (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of current developments in grounded theory (pp. 167-185). Londres: SAGE.

Bertoglia, J.P. (1997). Adaptación del “Cuestionario sobre estrés Solano Beauregard” para la medición del nivel de estrés en el personal de oficinas centrales y periféricas del Banco Nacional de Costa Rica. (Tesis de licenciatura). Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica.

Cólica, P.R. (2015). Estrés manual diagnóstico: La explicación psicobiológica de los síntomas. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Brujas.

Cozzo, G., & Reich, M. (2016). Estrés percibido y calidad de vida relacionada con la salud en personal sanitario asistencial. PSIENCIA. Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencia Psicológica, 8(1), 1-15.

Creswell, J. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. California: SAGE.

Creswell, J. (2017). Mindfulness interventions. Annual Review of Psychology, 68, 491-516.

Creswell, J. W., & Plano-Clark, V. L. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3a ed.). Los Ángeles: SAGE.

De Camargo, B. (2010). Estrés, síndrome general de adaptación o reacción general de alarma. Revista Médico Científica, 17(2), 78-86. Recuperado de http://www.revistamedicocientifica.org/index.php/rmc/article/view/103/637

Fàbregues, S., & Paré, M. H. (2016). La observación. En F.S. Fàbregues, N.J. Meneses, G.D. Rodríguez, & M.H. Paré (Eds.), Técnicas de investigación social y educativa (pp. 120-138). Barcelona: Editorial UOC.

Fernández, M. (2009). Estrés percibido, estrategias de afrontamiento y sentido de coherencia en estudiantes de enfermería: Su asociación con salud psicológica y estabilidad emocional (Tesis de doctorado). Universidad de León, México.

Flick, U. (2015). El diseño de investigación cualitativa. Madrid: Morata.

García-Jarillo, M., Caravaca-Sánchez, F., Sánchez-Alcaraz, C., & Luna, A. (2016). Psychosocial stressors perceived in the process of social reintegration and compliance time remaining in prison sentence. Revista Española de Sanidad Penitenciaria, 18(2), 49-95. Recuperado de http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1575-06202016000200003&lng=es&tlng=en

Goleman, D. (2003). Emociones destructivas: Cómo comprenderlas y dominarla. Buenos Aires: B Argentina.

González, B., & Escobar, A. (2002). Neuroanatomía del estrés. Revista Mexicana de Neurociencia, 3(5), 273-282.

Harrison, E. (2004). Meditaciones breves para vivir sin estrés. Barcelona, España: Oniro.

Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. R. (2008). Structural equation modelling: Guidelines for determining model fit. The Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6(1), 53-60. Recuperado de http://www.ejbrm.com/issue/download.html?idArticle=183

Izcara, S. (2014). Manual de investigación cualitativa. México D.F., México: Fontamara.

Lazarus, R., & Folkman, S. (1986). Estrés y procesos cognitivos. Barcelona: Martínez Roca.

Le, T. N., & Proulx, J. (2015). Feasibility of mindfulness-based intervention for incarcerated mixed-ethnic Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander youth. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 6(2), 181. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/aap0000019

Lei, P., & Wu, Q. (2012). Estimation in structural equation modeling. En R.H. Hoyle. (Ed.), Handbook of structural equation modeling (pp. 164-180). Nueva York: Guilford.

Littig, B., & Pöchhacker, F. (2014). Socio-translational collaboration in qualitative inquiry: The case of expert interviews. Qualitative Inquiry, 20(9), 1085-1095. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800414543696

Martínez, D. (2014). Análisis de la relevancia de la política pública para la atención de la salud mental en Costa Rica. Enfermería Actual en Costa Rica, 26, 1-8. Recuperado de https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/enfermeria/article/view/13699

Mecanismo Nacional de Prevención de la Tortura (2018). 2017 Informe anual de labores. Recuperado de http://www.dhr.go.cr/transparencia/participacion_ciudadana/prevencion_de_la_tortura/informes/informe_anual_mnpt_2017.pdf

Moser, G. (2014). Psicología ambiental: Aspectos de las relaciones individuo-medioambiente. Bogotá: Ecoe Ediciones.

Nidich, S., O’Connor, T., Rutledge, T., Duncan, J., Compton, B., Seng, A., & Nidich, R. (2016). Reduced trauma symptoms and perceived stress in male prison inmates through the transcendental meditation Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Perm J, 20(4), 43-47. https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/16-007

O’Reilly, M., & Dogra, N. (2017). Interviewing children and young people for research. Londres: SAGE.

Orme-Johnson, D., & Barnes, V. (2014). Eff ects of the transcendental meditation technique on trait anxiety: a metaanalysis of randomized controlled trials. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 20(5), 330-341. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2013.0204

Orme-Johnson, D. W., & Moore, R. M. (2003). First prison study using the transcendental meditation program: La Tuna Federal Penitentiary, 1971. Journal of Off ender Rehabilitation, 36(1-4), 89-95.

Perelman, A. M., Miller, S. L., Clements, C. B., Rodríguez, A., Allen, K., & Cavanaugh, R. (2012). Meditation in a deep south prison: A longitudinal study of the eff ects of Vipassana. Journal Of Off ender Rehabilitation, 51(3), 176-198.

Pham, K. H. (2013). Outcomes of a recreation therapy yoga meditation intervention on prison inmates’ spiritual wellbeing (Tesis de maestría). San Jose State University, California.

Rainforth, M. V., Alexander, C. N., & Cavanaugh, K. L. (2003). Eff ects of the transcendental meditation program on recidivism among former inmates of folsom prison: Survival analysis of 15-year follow-up data. Journal Of Off ender Rehabilitation, 36(1-4), 181-203.

Ramos, P. (2017). Inteligencia emocional: Control del estrés (3a. ed.). Málaga: ICB S.L.

Ronel, N., Frid, N., & Timor, U. (2013). The practice of positive criminology: A Vipassana course in prison. International Journal of Off ender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 57(2), 133–153. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X11427664

Salom, I. (2005). Meditación y bienestar. Geosalud. Medicina Natural. Recuperado de: http://www.geosalud.com/medicinanatural/meditacion.htm

Sánchez, M. E. (2010). Estrés, un problema psicosocial: La psicología funcional del sí. En M.E. Sánchez & C. López (Eds.). Estrés y salud: Aportaciones desde la psicología social (pp. 47-65). D.F. México: Editorial Miguel Ángel Porrúa.

Schoeberlein, D. (2017). Mindfulness: Vivir con atención plena en casa, en el trabajo, en el mundo. Bilbao: Desclée De Brouwer.

Sim, J. (2018). Grounded theory. En B. Frey (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of educational research, measurement, and evaluation (pp. 754-756). California: SAGE.

Smith, V., & Molina, M. (2011). Cuaderno Metodológico 5. La entrevista cognitiva: Guía para su aplicación en la evaluación y mejoramiento de instrumentos de papel y lápiz. San José: Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas, Universidad de Costa Rica.

Ugarte, A. M. (2010). El impacto psicoambiental: Los problemas ambientales como problemas sociales. En R. Sapiains (Ed.), El dilema del castor (pp. 261-312). Santiago: Universidad de Chile.

Vannoy, S. D., & Hoyt, W. T. (2004). Evaluation of an anger therapy intervention for incarcerated adult males. Journal of Off ender Rehabilitation, 39(2), 39-57.

Weiss, B. (2007). Meditación: Cómo dejar atrás las tensiones y el estrés y alcanzar la paz. Barcelona: Editorial B. Yin, R. K. (2013). Case study research: Design and methods (5a. ed.). California: SAGE.

Yoon, I., Slade, K., & Fazel, S. (2017). Outcomes of psychological therapies for prisoners with mental health problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 85(8), 783-802. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000214