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Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 00 (2011) 000–000
Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 30 (2011) 1494 – 1498
Procedia
Social and
Behavioral
Sciences
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
WCPCG-2011
The Study of the Effects of Yoga Exercises on Addicts’ Depression
and Anxiety in Rehabilitation Period
Mina Marefata, Hossein Peymanzad b, Yaser Alikhajeh b*
a ,b
Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, of Islamic Azad University – Mashhad Branch- Iran
Abstract
The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of yoga exercises on addicts’ depression and anxiety in rehabilitation
period. The method of this investigation is Semi-experimental. All new cases were evaluated on admission using a personal
information questionnaire as well as Beck-2 and Spielberg test. Participants were randomly assigned into two groups; an
experimental and a control group. The experimental group (n=12) participated in training protocol that were held for 3 sessions
per week and 60 minutes each session for 5 weeks. The control group (n=12) was assigned to a waiting list and did not receive
yoga. Both groups were evaluated again after a five-week study period. Descriptive statistics and t-test at =0.05were used to
analyze the data. The present study indicated that yoga exercises made significant differences in depression and state anxiety
level of the experimental group in comparison with the control group (p=0.048), (p=0.023), and insignificant difference in trait
anxiety level of the experimental group in comparison with the control group(p=0.835).
© 2011 Published
Published by
by Elsevier
Elsevier Ltd.
Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the 2nd World Conference on Psychology, Counselling and
Guidance.
Keywords: Yoga; Depression; State-Trait Anxiety; Addiction
1. Introduction
From the time immemorial, mankind’s use of drugs was prevalent for pain relief and according to historical
documents, over use of drugs was also existed (2). Addiction is a complex problem that can affect all realms of life
and calls for a holistic response (4).Nowadays, narcotics use have the perilous and quite complex shape (20).
Narcotic drugs and their numeral and unexplainable damages can be considered as one of the human’s destructive
diseases and great mankind’s social pests ; there was no harmful and disastrous substance for human like narcotic
drugs throughout the history(2).
Narcotic addiction is one of the fundamental problems of human being’s life; it is for nearly a century that
mankind has decided to solve this problem (15). Addiction is considered as one of the main four critics and a global
issue too; its side effects are as follows: physical, mental, family, cultural, social and economical disorders (8). Not
only addiction is a personal-social problem but also it is a family problem; it has negative effects on mental health of
the addict and his/her family (16).
The combination of addiction with depression as well as anxiety makes treatment and recovery harder. In fact,
there is a significant relationship between mental disorders such as depression and addiction among addicted
1877-0428 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the 2nd World Conference on Psychology, Counselling and Guidance.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.289
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families (19). Sports and physical education are of the main tools which lead to recovery and treatment though such
tools have been neglected (1).
To this end, the aim of yoga, as an eastern life philosophy, is the mind and body balance; it has a positive
effect on quality of life and feeling of whole body health; it also leads to more compatibility of mental, immunity,
and cognitive systems; beside this, it leads to modification of automatic nervous system and more body stability and
resistance (13). Since, addiction prevention should be logical as well as combinational, including skills, decision
making, family interference and etc.; among which physical exercises and yoga can be of the useful components of
the treatment programs and addiction prevention (12).
2. Review of the Related Literature
Several improvements about yoga exercises were noted by the researchers and subjects. These included:
Reduction of depression and state-trait anxiety, prevention and treatment of addiction, better sleep quality, stress
tolerance, mental focus, health promotion and decrease of neurological disruptions. A review of the literature
revealed that most of the studies which have reported significant reduction in depression , state-trait anxiety and
other neurological signs after physical exercises and yoga, have been done on non-addicts. Ghaseminejad and
Noorbakhsh in their research on over 40 years old women, stated yoga has profitable effect on depression and
reduce it(6).
Chen et al. reported after 6 months yoga exercises, sleep quality and depression of old people improves (4).
Ghaseminejade Dehkordi reported that group exercises are more effective than individual exercises in depression
reduction (5). Pilkington et al. and Uebelaker et al. reported yoga has profitable effect on depression and reduce it
(14), (23). Vedamurtakar studied the effects of Sudarshan kriya yoga on alcoholic persons and concluded that yoga
exercises cause depression reduction in people (24). But Javanbakht reported no significant reduction in depression
that it is probably because of the gender of subjects and their special situations (9). Shapiro et al. In the study on 27
men and 10 women with A-polar depression declared that during yoga exercises, depression, anxiety and
neurological signs decrease significantly (17).
Streeter et al. reported yoga exercise is reduction factor for disorders with lower levels of GABA like
depression and anxiety (21). Telles et al. in a research on 300 women and men concluded that both yoga exercises
and theoretical aspects of yoga decrease state anxiety; but yoga exercises reduces state anxiety more than theoretical
aspects of yoga (22).Smith et al. reported that yoga and relaxation reduce anxiety and stress, but yoga is more
effective (18). Gupta et al. concluded that in a short time program for pressure control, state and trait anxiety
decrease significantly in 10 days (7) Javanbakht reported yoga exercises decrease state and trait anxiety significantly
(9). Other studies reported that yoga, meditation and relaxation are complementary segments in addiction therapy.
Khalsa et al. reported yoga is an effective method for addiction therapy (10).Winkelman reported that
complementary therapy enhances recovery by relaxation, increase of theta wave and coordination of brain wave
(25). Nespor reported that yoga is effective in prevention and remedy of addictive disease as a complementary
treatment (12). Carlson et al. reported meditation is used successfully for stress reduction between people who have
clinical problems and is a complementary therapy for addiction (3). Marlat reported that Buddhist philosophy
including compassion, meditation and clinical interferences, has direct implications for addictive behavior remedy
(11). In the present study, we use physical and respiratory exercises in addition to meditation and relaxation to see
whether yoga exercises have positive effects on depression and anxiety of clients in rehabilitation period and also
yoga can be one of the complementary therapeutic methods for addiction therapy.
3. Materials and Methods
This research is a semi-experimental investigation and statistical society consists of 50 male clients in
therapeutic community center of Gorgan city .At first, clients did personal information questionnaire,Beck-2
depression and Spielberger state-trait anxiety inventory that their reliability has been confirmed, and persons whose
age and giving up period were significantly different and had no depression and anxiety, did not participate in this
research and so, statistical sample consisted of 24 persons .
Then, they were randomly divided in two groups with 12 clients in each group and if needed they were
displaced between groups in order to have two homogeneous groups in age ,giving up period ,depression and statetrait anxiety .According to this, we can say that necessary solutions to control the disruptive factors that may
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decrease research validity has been monitored. After that, selected yoga exercises were performed for 3 sessions per
week and 60 minutes per session during 5 weeks, that in primary sessions it included breathing exercises, meditation
and relaxation for different physical conditions of clients, then physical exercises were also added.
After 5 weeks and in last session all clients whether in class or not, took those depression and anxiety tests
again. According to the goals of investigation the best way to collect needful data was a questionnaire that
determines addicts’ depression and state-trait anxiety in rehabilitation period .Due to this reason; it has applied Beck2 depression and Spielberger state-trait anxiety inventory and personal information questionnaire.
Personal information questionnaire: there are 18 questions about personal specifications, records, diseases and
drugs of addicts that have been made based on these investigation goals by investigator.
Beck-2 depression
inventory: This questionnaire is revised form of Beck, which for covering wide range of points, in 1996 the basic
revision was done on it [3]. In this questionnaire, scores range is between 0 to 63 and the scores are usually achieved
between 12 to 40; but only in severe depression levels, scores acquisition of 40 to 50 is possible. Validity of the
inventory in this investigation from Cronbach’s alpha manner is 0.90.
Spielberger State-Trait anxiety inventory: It includes 2 short tests(20 matters) that are easy to understand ,self
measured and sensitive to temporal anxiety (state) and also characteristic Specifications that may creates experience
background of chronic anxiety (Trait) in persons[30].Validity of state and trait anxiety inventory in this investigation
is
respectively
0.88
and
0.86
.
from
Cronbach’s
alpha
manner
In this study at first stage, questionnaires were distributed between clients and if needed, they were guided and
helped by investigator and if there were some mistakes in their answers they were asked to correct themselves and,
unintelligible instances were explained to them. After collecting questionnaires, clients divided in two equal groups
based on age, giving up period, depression and state – trait anxiety level. Then statistical sample was specified. After
15 sessions of yoga exercises including physical, breathing, meditation and relaxation exercises in 60 minutes per
session, those questionnaires were distributed between clients again and asked them to do questionnaires with
attention and patience.
At first part of this research descriptive statistic was used and when normal distribution of data was ensured by
Kolmogrofsmirnof, in statistical analysis t-tests were utilized. According to ethnic observations writing personal
information like first name and last name in questionnaires were asked, but all information are protected by
investigator.
4. Results
The mean age in the experimental group was (21-34)26 4.068 and in the control group it was(23-31)26.75
2.734 ,with no significant difference between 2 groups(p=0.909).In both experimental and control groups, giving up
period of 33.3 percent of clients was one week ,in 33.3 percent of clients it was one month and in 33.3 percent of
them it was two months .Depression level in experimental group was reported 26.75 8.476 before yoga and
decreased to 18.92 9.977 after yoga that showed significant difference (p=0.022). State anxiety in experimental
group was reported 47.25 13.465 before yoga and decreased to 36.08 10.698 after yoga that showed
significant difference (0.042).Trait anxiety in experimental group was reported 43.25 8.740 before yoga and
decreased to 42.67 8.083 after yoga that showed insignificant difference (0.835). Yoga exercises caused
significant difference in depression level of experimental group in comparison with the control group in
rehabilitation period (p=0.048). Yoga exercises caused significant difference in state anxiety level of experimental
group in comparison with the control group in rehabilitation period (p=0.023). Yoga exercises caused insignificant
difference in trait anxiety level of experimental group in comparison with the control group in rehabilitation period
(p=0.835).
5. Conclusion
Several improvements about yoga exercises were noted by the researchers and subjects. Most of the studies have
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reported significant reduction in depression, state-trait anxiety and other neurological signs after physical exercises
and yoga. Ghaseminejadand and norbakhsh, Chen et al., ghaseminejade dehkordi, Pilkington, Uebelaker and
Vedamortakar, Streeter, Telles, Smith and Gupta reported significant reduction in depression, state and trait anxiety
and other neurological disorders after yoga exercises and Javanbakht reported significant reduction in state and trait
anxiety but insignificant reduction in depression, that this inequality with the present research and other
investigations is probably because of the gender of subjects and their special situations. The present study monitored
a group of clients with an age range of (21-34) to explore if their Depression and State-Trait Anxiety were affected
by yoga exercises.
In this study it was found that Yoga has a positive and significant effect both on depression and state anxiety
level of addicts in rehabilitation period (p=0.048),(p=0.023). the result are equal with other investigations and this
equality is probably because of yoga positive effects on different parts of body, specially nervous and respiratory
system and different kinds of glands and hormones that cause to release anti-depression hormones such as
Serotonine, Dopamine and Norepinephrine and these hormones are anti-anxiety to some extent and also yoga has an
effect on Adernaline and Epinephrine hormones and decreases their secretions and therefore yoga decrease
depression and state anxiety. But the results in this investigation suggested that yoga has insignificant effect on
addict’s trait anxiety in rehabilitation period (p=0.935); and this is not equal with other studies and it is probably
because that trait anxiety in addicts is too sever so that yoga exercises can not affect it.
In other studies Khalsa, Winkelman, Nespor, Carlson and Marlat reported, yoga, meditation and relaxation as
complementary segments in addiction therapy that the findings are equal with this investigation results. Therefore, it
can be suggested that according to this investigation and other researches, different kinds of yoga exercises can be
considered as a complementary therapy or an alternative method alongside other methods in treatment of clients’
depression and state anxiety.
References
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practice2002; 9(1):44-50.
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medicine2005; 144(1):5-53.
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14. Pilkington K, Kirkwood G, Rampes H, Richardson J. Yoga for depression. Journal of affective disorders 2005;
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PSY-380 Introduction to Probability and Statistics
Project 2
For this assignment, you will review the two scholarly articles:
•
•
Read “Innovative Behavioral Health Programs for Older Adults: Findings From
Movement Therapy in Older Adults Experiencing Anxiety and Depression,” by Salmons
et. al., from The Arts in Psychotherapy (2022).
Read “The Study of the Effects of Yoga Exercises on Addicts’ Depression and Anxiety in
Rehabilitation Period,” by Marefat et al., from Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences (2011).
Both articles are from psychology journals and utilize hypothesis testing and a quantitative
method. Review both articles, then select one and respond to the following questions in 750 1000 words. This does not include the instructions or the question stems, so before submitting
your document to LopesWrite, delete the question stems and the directions to the assignment.
Include the title and your answers to each question.
1. Provide the APA reference of the article you chose
2. Describe the study. What was the purpose of the study/or research question(s)?
3. Identify which test statistic was used. Did they use more than one test statistic? Explain.
4. Report the statistical results for all tests (using correct APA style formatting).
5. Interpret and explain the statistical results. Was the hypothesis supported? Explain.
6. Describe the limitations to the study and suggestions for future research.
7. How do results from this study contribute to research in behavioral health?
8. How will the results of this study impact practice in behavioral health?
The Arts in Psychotherapy 77 (2022) 101873
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
The Arts in Psychotherapy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/artspsycho
Innovative behavioral health programs for older adults: Findings from
movement therapy in older adults experiencing anxiety and depression
C. Salmons a, M. Roberts b, c, E. Sappington c, d, A. Yalcin e, C. VandeWeerd c, *
a
The Villages Health, The Villages, FL, U.S.
School of Aging Studies, The University of South Florida (USF), Tampa, FL, U.S.
c
UFHealth Precision Health Research Center, The Villages, FL, U.S.
d
USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, Tampa, FL, U.S.
e
USF Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, Tampa, FL, U.S.
b
A R T I C L E I N F O
A B S T R A C T
Keywords:
Movement therapy
Older adults
Depression
Anxiety
The number of older adults in the U.S. with mental health disorders is projected to rise and traditional therapies
are costly, carry stigma, and lack efficacy for all patients. Expansion of innovative treatments is needed.
Movement Therapy (MT) involves the psychotherapeutic use of expressive movement to produce physical and
emotional change. Effects of short-term MT on subjective measures of quality of life, sleep, depression, per
sonality, self-esteem, and anxiety were examined. Participants (N = 49) were older adults (M = 69.3, SD = 8.37)
living in The Villages, FL, a 55 + active lifestyle community, referred by their primary care providers following
diagnosis of depression or anxiety. Structured, small group sessions focused on establishing peer-support and
healthy responses to psychological distress during weekly, 1-hour meetings. Pre/post-intervention surveys were
analyzed using paired sample t-tests. Significant reductions were found in depression as measured by Beck’s
Depression Inventory, t(45) = 3.16, p = .004, dz = 0.14 and The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, t(44) =
2.47, p = .018, dz = 0.31. Additionally, significant improvements in self-esteem t(45) = 3.14, p = .004, dz = 0.32
were reported using Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale. Participants reported a highly positive experience, as
measured by scores of program efficacy on a scale of 1–10 (M = 9.24, SD = 1.51). Further studies may benefit
from using control groups and follow-up measurements to confirm the effectiveness of MT with older adults.
By 2060, the number of Americans aged 65 and over is projected to
more than double from 46 million in 2016 to more than 98 million
(Population Reference Bureau, 2016). As this shift occurs, the need for
mental health services for older adults will continue to increase. Ac
cording to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis
tration (2020), approximately 1 in 5 older adults suffer from a mental
health disorder. However, mental health resources can be underutilized
within older age groups, in part due to stigma surrounding mental illness
and a lack of coordination between primary care providers and mental
health care providers (American Psychological Association, 2015).
There has been an expansion of non-conventional mental health care
services due to high costs over the last decades (Langarizadeh et al., 2017).
It has been suggested that total health care spending increases three-fold for
those with a mental health disorder (Figueroa, Phelan, Orav, Patel, & Jha,
2020). Current research suggests that Medicare mental health care
spending may be greater than what is reported (Figueroa et al., 2020). A
recent estimate by Figueroa and colleagues (2020) suggests that 12.7% of
the total Medicare spending is associated with mental health disorders,
which is higher than what has been previously suggested to be around 6.4%
of the total health care spending for the general population (Substance
Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, 2016). One estimate
found that approximately 45% of the spending is allocated towards pre
scription medications, such as antidepressants (Vankova et al., 2014).
While antidepressant medications for older adults are often effective,
treatment may become more optimal while administering concurrently
with nonpharmacological therapies (Taylor, 2015). Therefore, expansion
of innovative treatments is needed to address the rising number of older
adults using mental health services, particularly for the most prevalent
conditions-anxiety and depression.
A limited, but growing, number of publications have examined the
effectiveness of movement therapy in treating older adults’ mental
health conditions. The majority of research to date has been examining
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (C. VandeWeerd).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2021.101873
Received 15 March 2021; Received in revised form 23 November 2021; Accepted 27 November 2021
Available online 29 November 2021
0197-4556/© 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
C. Salmons et al.
The Arts in Psychotherapy 77 (2022) 101873
the effectiveness of dance movement therapy (DMT). As an example,
Koch and colleagues (2014; 2019) have conducted 2 meta-analyses on
the effects of DMT on psychological outcomes. Primary outcomes typi
cally include depression and quality of life, with additional evidence
gathered related to satisfaction with the program. Significant reductions
in depression scores (Eyigor, Karapolat, Durmaz, Ibisoglu, & Cakir,
2009; Koch et al., 2019; Vankova et al., 2014) as well as increases in life
satisfaction (Osgood, Meyers, & Orchowsky, 1990) and quality of life
(Koch et al., 2019; Koch, Kunz, Lykou, & Cruz, 2014) have been found.
Further, Karkou, Aithal, Zubala, and Meekums (2019) conducted a
systematic review of DMT for adults with depression and found that for
studies with moderate to high quality that dance movement therapy was
an effective treatment option for adults with depression. In another
recent systematic review by Jiménez, Bräuninger, and Meekums (2019)
examining DMT with older adults with psychiatric conditions, they
found that 15 out of the 16 studies that met their inclusion criteria were
focused on individuals with dementia, with one being those with
depression. In a Cochrane review by Karkou and Meekums (2017) they
found no evidence for, or against, DMT primarily due to an insufficient
number of randomized controlled trials. While promising results have
emerged from the field of DMT, further research is needed to examine
the role of movement therapy (MT) for older adults with depression and
anxiety.
positively influence these measures of subjective health and well-being.
In other words, symptoms of depression and anxiety would decrease,
while measures of sleep, personality, self-esteem, and quality of life
would increase.
Method
Program participants
This evaluation utilized secondary data analysis to assess outcomes
such as program satisfaction and mental health improvement amongst
older adults who participated in the Mind in Motion program between
May 2018 and March 2019. As part of original programing, all program
participants completed surveys in targeted health domains to evaluate
program performance, and de-identified survey data was shared with
study authors. Informed consent was obtained from the healthcare
practice conducting the intervention. This secondary data analysis was
approved by The University of Florida IRB202100395. At program
onset, Mind-in-Motion program participants were recruited via referral
from their primary care provider, psychiatrist or therapist following
diagnosis of anxiety of depression. All participants were diagnosed with
anxiety or depression. The use of stable (i.e. greater than 90 days) an
xiolytics or anti-depressants was allowed during the intervention. An
xiolytics or anti-depressants prescribed as needed (i.e. PRN) were also
allowed, given that a participant had been on treatment for more than
90 days. Previous studies have also concurrently allowed for the usage of
pharmacotherapy in MT (Punkanen, Saarikallio, & Luck, 2014) and the
decision was made to follow this precedent in order to ensure the highest
likelihood of successful treatment. Additionally, participants were
permitted to continue utilizing other psychotherapeutic methods
concurrently, such as cognitive behavioral therapy.
Movement therapy
The expertise of a movement therapist is to assess, treat, and evaluate
an individual using the artistic discipline of movement in order to
facilitate a psychotherapy session (University of Florida Health Arts in
Medicine, 2019).
Mind-in-Motion is a specific form of MT that attempts to re-establish a
healthy neuromuscular memory and connection between the physical
body and the mind. It is grounded in the core theory and traditions of
dance/movement therapy, including the work of Marian Chace and
Rudolph Laban (Levy, 1988); the body imagery techniques of Mabel
Todd (Todd, 1937); and Andrea Olsen’s 1991 instructional text, Body
Stories: A Guide to Experiential Anatomy (Olsen & McHose, 1991). MT
sessions allow participants to express themselves through physical
movements and creative exercises (Olsen & McHose, 1991).
Mind-in-Motion focuses on establishing healthy responses to stress
and increasing understanding of how trauma and disease can interrupt
access to sensation and emotion. This therapy also emphasizes physical
movements such as gentle stretching and posture/balance exercises,
building into more vigorous, systemic release moves, and free use of the
whole body to articulate emotions. Participants develop a sense of
movement as a “language,” and in turn, are able to embody ideas and
feelings they cannot always put into words. Group cohesion is developed
through partnered and/or whole-group movement exercises, as well as
group processing and discussion at the end of the hour. Connecting the
body and mind through Mind-in-Motion may serve a purpose in reducing
symptoms of mental health challenges.
Setting
All clinicians, therapists, and psychiatrists worked within a primary
care system and all participants were residents of The Villages and pa
tients of The Villages Health. The Villages is an active lifestyle retire
ment community in Central Florida, home to approximately 135,000
adults 55 years or older. The Villages Health uses a coordinated
approach within primary care, in which the behavioral health services
are co-located within primary care to lessen the impact of stigma and
therapists work closely with the patient’s primary care physician.
Intervention
Mind-in-Motion was the form of MT utilized in the sessions. The
program sought to provide therapeutic benefits through a short-term
and small group format. Each group met once a week for four weeks,
with each meeting lasting one hour. The therapist who led the MT ses
sions is a licensed clinical social worker with 20 years’ experience with
certifications in dance and movement and an adjunct professor in
dance/body awareness. The therapist was not involved in the collection,
distribution, or analysis of the pre and post-test surveys.
Group-form MT is based on a broad theoretical framew
