The effectiveness of Abhidhamma meditations in enhancing psychological health and reducing hypertension of Augustinian seminarians

• Main Author: Kattikat, Xavier, O.S.A.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1996
• Subjects: Meditations; Therapeutics; Mental healing; Hypertension; Seminarians; Augustinians; Counseling
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/1907
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study investigates the effectiveness of Abhidhamma Meditations in enhancing psychological health and reducing hypertension of Augustinian seminarians. It seeks to find out the extent of changes brought about by the practice of Abhidhamma Meditations on the psychological health of the subjects [as measured by the subscales Time Competence, Inner Directedness, Spontaneity, Self-regard, Self-acceptance, Capacity for Intimate Contact of Personal Orientation Inventory (PO1)], and on hypertension of the subjects (as shown by the Rate of Breathing, Pulse Rate, Body Temperature, Blood Pressure Systolic, and Blood Pressure Diastolic).The study used the quasi-experimental design. The 12 volunteer seminarians were equally and randomly assigned as the control subjects and the experimental subjects. After administering the PO1 pretest, the control subjects and the experimental subjects were separated. For a baseline phase of one week, each day the rate of breathing, pulse rate, body temperature, blood pressure systolic, and blood pressure diastolic of all the subjects were monitored at random times. At the end of the baseline phase, the researcher lead the experimental subjects into the practice of Abhidhamma Meditations. Daily two sessions of 30 minutes each were practiced for a period of two weeks. Every day the rate of breathing, pulse rate, body temperature, blood pressure systolic, and blood pressure diastolic of all the seminarians were monitored at random times. At the end of two weeks of experimental phase, the posttest of PO1 was administered to the control subjects and the experimental subjects. And the data collected were analyzed. The pretest showed low means on all the variables of psychological health. The posttest showed that after the practice of Abhidhamma Meditations, there was a significant increase in the means of Time Competence, Self-regard, and Self-acceptance at p .01 and the means of Spontaneity and Capacity for Intimate Contact at p .05. The increase in Inner Directedness was not significant. The increases in the experimental subjects were also significantly greater than the changes in the control subjects in Self-regard, Self-acceptance, and Capacity for Intimate Contact at p .01 and in Time Competence at p .05. The increase on Inner Directedness and Spontaneity in the experimental subjects was not significantly different from the changes in the control subjects. In the variables related to hypertension, the subjects who practiced Abhidhamma Meditations showed significant decreases in the means of all the variables during the experimental phase. It also showed that the changes in the experimental subjects were significantly different from that of the control subjects (p,.05).The conclusions of the study could be summarized as follows:1. Abhidhamma Meditations are effective in enhancing the psychological health of the seminarians.2. Abhidhamma Meditations are effective in reducing the hypertension of the seminarians. Based on the findings some recommendations were made for seminary formation, counseling profession, and future research.