Table 1.
Participant ratings (mean [SEM]) and statistics
| Screening | 1 month | 12 months | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persisting Effects Questionnairea | T 13 | P= | T 13 | P= | |||||
| Positive attitudes about life and/or self | 35.1 (5.9) | 6.23 | *** | 39.3 (6.5) | 6.24 | *** | |||
| Positive mood changes | 21.8 (5.0) | 4.52 | *** | 32.5 (8.2) | 4.11 | ** | |||
| Altruistic/positive social effects | 23.2 (5.9) | 4.11 | ** | 28.4 (6.3) | 4.72 | *** | |||
| Positive behavior changes | 30.0 (7.1) | 4.36 | *** | 30.0 (7.8) | 4 | ** | |||
| Negative attitudes about life and/or self | 1.1 (0.6) | 1.82 | NS | 0.5 (0.3) | 2.12 | NS | |||
| Negative mood changes | 1.1 (1.1) | 1 | NS | 0.7 (0.7) | 1 | NS | |||
| Antisocial/negative social effects | 1.0 (0.9) | 1.63 | NS | 1.8 (1.0) | 1.85 | NS | |||
| Negative behavior changes | 0.0 (0.0) | 1 | NS | 0.0 (0.0) | 1 | NS | |||
| T 13 | P= | T 13 | P= | ||||||
| How personally meaningful was the experience? (score range 1–8)b | 5.4 (0.3) | 14.17 | *** | 5.7 (0.4) | 11.8 | *** | |||
| How spiritually significant was the experience? (score range 1–6)b | 2.9 (0.5) | 4.28 | *** | 3.4 (0.5) | 4.84 | *** | |||
| Did the experience change your sense of well-being or life satisfaction? (score range − 3 to + 3, 0 = no change)b | 1.0 (0.3) | 3.8 | ** | 1.4 (0.3) | 4.76 | *** | |||
| Mysticism Scaleb | F 2,26 | P= | |||||||
| Interpretation (max score = 108) | 65.1 (3.8) | 75.9 (5.1) | 76.6 (5.5) | 3.32 | NS | ||||
| Introvertive (max score = 108) | 37.9 (3.7) | 52.1 (3.6) | ** | 52.0 (3.9) | ** | 8.13 | < 0.01 | ||
| Extrovertive (max score = 172) | 47.4 (5.4) | 69.5 (8.0) | ** | 74.4 (6.7) | *** | 10.43 | < 0.001 | ||
| Total (max score = 288) | 151 (10.9) | 198 (14.3) | ** | 203 (14.6) | *** | 11.13 | < 0.001 | ||
| Death Transcendence Scaleb | F 2,26 | P= | |||||||
| Mysticism (max score = 35) | 13.1 (2.0) | 21.1 (2.7) | ** | 24.6 (2.6) | ***,# | 13.57 | < 0.001 | ||
| Religious (max score = 35) | 14.6 (2.1) | 16.8 (2.2) | 16.6 (2.2) | 1.86 | NS | ||||
| Nature (max score = 35) | 26.7 (1.0) | 27.9 (1.1) | 28.4 (1.1) | 2.15 | NS | ||||
| Creative (max score = 35) | 16.5 (2.2) | 15.8 (2.3) | 18.2 (2.3) | 3.32 | NS | ||||
| Biosocial (max score = 42) | 29.1 (1.9) | 29.3 (2.1) | 28.1 (2.3) | 0.96 | NS | ||||
| Total (max score = 182) | 101 (4.6) | 111 (5.4) | * | 116 (6.1) | ** | 7.91 | < 0.01 | ||
| NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI)c | F 2,28 | P= | |||||||
| Neuroticism (max score = 48) | 14.4 (2.0) | 14.6 (1.5) | 13.3 (1.5) | 0.41 | NS | ||||
| Extraversion (max score = 48) | 30.2 (1.4) | 30.5 (2.0) | 30. (2.0) | 0.20 | NS | ||||
| Openness (max score = 48) | 33.4 (2.2) | 33.7 (2.3) | 33.0 (2.5) | 0.16 | NS | ||||
| Agreeableness (max score = 48) | 33.1 (1.5) | 32.6 (1.7) | 33.8 (1.6) | 1.09 | NS | ||||
| Conscientiousness (max score = 48) | 30.1 (2.2) | 31.8 (2.1) | 34.8 (2.3) | * | 4.48 | < 0.05 | |||
| State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)c | F 2,28 | P= | |||||||
| Trait score (max score = 80) | 33.1 (2.3) | 31.0 (1.8) | 32.4 (1.8) | 1.13 | NS |
NS not significant
aData are expressed as percentage of maximum possible score. N = 14 subjects
b N = 14 subjects
c N = 15 subjects
*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001, post hoc comparison with screening; # P < 0.05 compared with 1 month