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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05948917

Mind-Body Skills Groups for Incarcerated Men and Women

The goal of this study is to learn about the effectiveness of a Mind-Body Skills Group program for incarcerated participants.The main questions is aims to answer are:

1. Do the mind-body skills groups increase resilience? 2. Do the mind-body skills groups decrease depression, anxiety and/or stress? 3. Do the mind-body skills groups increase participants' belief that they have improved coping skills? 4. Do the mind-body skills groups increase a sense of meaning in life? 5. Do the mind-body skills groups increase a sense of life purpose? 6. Do the mind-body skills groups increase self-esteem in women? 7. Do the mind-body skills groups decrease aggressive responses in men?

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Key information

Conditions

Resilience

Age range

21 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Indiana Women's Prison, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

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Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

The inclusion criteria for this study will be English-speaking incarcerated individuals at the Indiana Women's Prison and and at the Plainfield Correctional Facility.

Exclusion criteria

  • Having any of the following before the study is completed:
  • a sentence that will end,
  • a scheduled change in security level to a minimum-security prison or,
  • a scheduled work release;

Or 2. Having conduct problems and/or emotional or mental instability that prevents safe and effective participation in the mind-body medicine training program

Treatment and study plan

Mind-Body Skills Groups

Behavioral

The mind-body skills groups consist of supportive small group sessions with about 8-10 participants per group. Participants of these groups learn and practice mind-body techniques including: meditation, self-expression through drawings, autogenics and biofeedback, guided imagery, body awareness, and genograms.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change from Baseline on resilience using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) after the 10-session mind-body skills groups and at 3 month follow-up.

    Time frame: Baseline, 11 weeks, and at 3 month follow-up

    The CD-RISC is a validated, self-report instrument assessing resilience over the last month. The CD-RISC consists of 25 questions that are rated on a 5-point scale with higher scores representing greater resilience.

    Change = After the 10 sessions score- Baseline score; Follow-up score - After the 10 sessions score; and Follow-up Score - Baseline score

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change from Baseline on depression, anxiety, and stress using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale -21 (DASS-21) after the 10-session mind-body skills groups and at 3 month follow-up.

    Time frame: Baseline, 11 weeks, and at 3 month follow-up

    The DASS-21 is a validated, self-report instrument assessing the emotional states of depression, anxiety ans stress over the past week. The DASS-21 consists of 7 questions each for depression anxiety and stress are rated on a 4-point scale with higher scores representing higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.

    Change= After the 10 sessions scores- Baseline scores; Follow-up scores - After the 10 sessions scores; and Follow-up scores - Baseline scores

  2. Change from Baseline on coping-self efficacy using the Coping Self-Efficacy (CSE) scale after the 10 session mind-body skills groups and at 3 month follow-up

    Time frame: Baseline, 11 weeks, and at 3 month follow-up

    The CSE Scale is a validated, self-report instrument assessing coping self-efficacy.

    The CSE scale consists of 26 questions that are rated on scale from 0 "cannot do at all" to 10 "certain can do". Higher scores represent greater levels of coping self-efficacy.

    Change = After the 10 sessions score- Baseline score; Follow-up score - After the 10 session score; and Follow-up score - Baseline score.

  3. Change from Baseline on meaning in life using the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) after the 10 session mind-body skills groups and at 3 month follow-up

    Time frame: Baseline, 11 weeks, and at 3 month follow-up

    The MLQ is a validated, self-report instrument assessing meaning in life. The MLQ consists of 10 questions that are rated on 7- point scale. There are 2 subscales: presence of meaning and search for meaning. Higher scores represent greater levels of these two components of meaning in life.

    Change = After the 10 sessions score- Baseline score; Follow-up score - After the 10 session score; and Follow-up score - Baseline score.

  4. Change from Baseline on purpose in life using the the Life Engagement Test (LET) after the 10 session mind-body skills groups and at 3 month follow-up

    Time frame: Baseline, 11 weeks, and at 3 month follow-up

    The LET is a 6-item scale made up of items that are framed in half positive and half negative directions. These items are then rated using a 5-point scale that ranges from "1 = strongly disagree" to "5 = strongly agree".Higher scores represent greater levels of purpose in life.

    Change = After the 10 sessions score- Baseline score; Follow-up score - After the 10 session score; and Follow-up score - Baseline score.

  5. Change from Baseline on self-esteem (females only) using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) after the 10 session mind-body skills groups and at 3 month follow-up

    Time frame: Baseline, 11 weeks, and at 3 month follow-up

    The RSE scale consists of 10 items scored on a 4-point scale with responses that range from "not at all like me" to "completely like me". Higher scores represent greater self-esteem.

    Change = After the 10 sessions score- Baseline score; Follow-up score - After the 10 session score; and Follow-up score - Baseline score.

  6. Change from Baseline on aggression (males only) using the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) after the 10 session mind-body skills groups and at 3 month follow-up.

    Time frame: Baseline, 11 weeks, and at 3 month follow-up

    Improvements in aggression will be measured using the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) which is a revision of the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory that has been widely used to measure aggression.The AQ consists of 34 items scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale with responses ranging from "not at all like me" to "completely like me". The AQ has the following subscales: physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, hostility, and indirect aggression. Higher scores represent greater aggression according to these components.

    Change = After the 10 sessions score- Baseline score; Follow-up score - After the 10 session score; and Follow-up score - Baseline score.

Other outcomes

  1. How the Mind-Body Medicine Skills Groups have Affected the Participants by using Focus Group Interviews

    Time frame: 11 weeks

    Two focus groups with approximately with approximately 16-20 people each at each of the 2 prisons will be held. Focus group questions will cover topics such as how the mind-bdy skills groups have affected the participant in terms of relationships, how they view their future, and how they are going to used what they have learned.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

The Center for Mind-Body Medicine

Other

Collaborators

  • Herbert Simon Family Foundation

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Jul 17, 2023
Registry last updated
Dec 10, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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