Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on Anxiety, Depression, and Hopelessness in Menopausal Women: An Experimental Study

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine how mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training affects levels of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness in menopausal women. This experimental study was conducted as a pretest-posttest, control group design in two family health centers. The sample consisted of 100 (50 in the control group, 50 in the experimental group) menopausal women, determined on basis of power analysis. Data were collected using the Descriptive Characteristics Form, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and the Beck Hopelessness Scale. Whereas women in the experimental group received eight sessions of MBSR training, the women in the control group did not receive any intervention. There was a posttraining decrease in the mean anxiety, depression, and hopelessness scores of the experimental group, compared with the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < .05). We found that MBSR training effectively reduced anxiety, depression, and hopelessness in menopausal women.[Psychiatr Ann2023;53(2):83–94.]