Mindfulness Meditation and Substance Use in an Incarcerated Population

Bowen, Sarah
Witkiewitz, Katie
Dillworth, Tiara M.
Chawla, Neharika
Simpson, Tracy L.
Ostafin, Brian D.
Larimer, Mary E.
Blume, Arthur W.
Parks, George A.
Marlatt, G. Alan

¹Addictive Behaviors Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Washington
²Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington
³Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

⁴Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sarah Bowen, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Box 351525, Seattle, WA 98195. E-mail: [email protected].

Katie Witkiewitz is now at the Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago. Tracy L. Simpson is now at the Veterans Administration Puget Sound Health Care System.

This research was supported by National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Grant R21 AA130544382 to G. Alan Marlatt. We thank North Rehabilitation Facility staff, Lucia Meijer, Dave Murphy, Dylan Frazer, and course teacher Rich Crutcher. We also thank the inmates who participated in this research.

Received Date: March 4, 2005; Revised Date: September 23, 2005; Accepted Date: September 28, 2005

Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 20(3):p 343-347, September 2006.

Despite the availability of various substance abuse treatments, alcohol and drug misuse and related negative consequences remain prevalent. Vipassana meditation (VM), a Buddhist mindfulness-based practice, provides an alternative for individuals who do not wish to attend or have not succeeded with traditional addiction treatments. In this study, the authors evaluated the effectiveness of a VM course on substance use and psychosocial outcomes in an incarcerated population. Results indicate that after release from jail, participants in the VM course, as compared with those in a treatment-as-usual control condition, showed significant reductions in alcohol, marijuana, and crack cocaine use. VM participants showed decreases in alcohol-related problems and psychiatric symptoms as well as increases in positive psychosocial outcomes. The utility of mindfulness-based treatments for substance use is discussed.