Effect of a Group Meditation Process on Perceived Stress and Coping Strategies in a Prison Context

Because privation of liberty in jail affects 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 difference in the cognitive subscale (F-(1,F- 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.