Vooral in de VS is veel wetenschappelijk onderzoek gedaan naar de effecten van aandachttraining / Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction bij mensen met pijn, angst, fybromyalgie, psoriasis, depressie en kanker. Onderzoek is gedaan zowel in het Center for Mindfulness als ook in andere ziekenhuizen en instituten in de VS. Onderzoek is belangrijk om mindfulness of de kwaliteit van aandacht en haar effecten op lichaam en geest en gezondheid en welbevinden beter te begrijpen. Sinds enkele jaren wordt ook in Engeland aan de universiteiten van Cambridge, Oxford en Wales onderzoek gedaan naar de effecten van Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy bij mensen met depressie.

In Nederland wordt onderzoek gedaan aan de Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum voor Mindfulness Nijmegen en de universiteit van Maastricht. De belangrijkste uitkomsten van onderzoek naar de effecten van aandachttraining:

• er is een afname van lichamelijke en psychologische klachten
• een positieve verandering in de leefstijl
• cliënten kunnen zich beter ontspannen
• hebben een positiever zelfbeeld en beeld van de omgeving
• melden een verbetering van kwaliteit van leven

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Saxe, G., Hebert, J., Carmody, J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Rosenzweig, P., Jarzobski, D., Reed, G., and Blute, R. Can Diet, in conjunction with Stress Reduction, Affect the Rate of Increase in Prostate-specific Antigen After Biochemical Recurrence of Prostate Cancer? J. of Urology, 2001.

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Kabat-Zinn, J. Chapman, A, and Salmon, P. The relationship of cognitive and somatic components of anxiety to patient preference for alternative relaxation techniques. Mind/ Body Medicine (1997) 2:101-109.

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Goldenberg, DL, Kaplin, KH, Nadeau, MG, et al. A controlled study of a stress reduction, cognitive-behavioral treatment program in fibromyalgia. Musculoskeletal Pain (1994) 2:53-66.

Kaplin, KH, Goldenberg, DL, and Galvin-Nadeau, M. The impact of a meditation-based stress reduction program on fibromyalgia. Gen. Hosp Psychiatry (1993) 15:284-289.

Kabat-Zinn, J., Massion, A.O., Kristeller, J., Peterson, L.G., Fletcher, K., Pbert, L., Linderking, W., Santorelli, S.F. Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Am. J Psychiatry (1992) 149:936-943.

Santorelli, S.F. A qualitative case analysis of mindfulness meditation training in an outpatient Stress Reduction Program, and its implications for self-knowledge. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Massachusetts School of Education. University Microfilms International, Kalamazoo, MI (1992).

Bernhard, J., Kristeller, J. and Kabat-Zinn, J. Effectiveness of relaxation and visualization techniques as an adjunct to phototherapy and photochemotherapy of psoriasis. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. (1988) 19:572-573.

Kabat-Zinn, J. and Chapman-Waldrop, A. Compliance with an outpatient stress reduction program: rates and predictors of completion. J.Behav. Med. (1988) 11:333-352.

Kabat-Zinn, J., Lipworth, L., Burney, R. and Sellers, W. Four year follow-up of a meditation-based program for the self-regulation of chronic pain: Treatment outcomes and compliance. Clin.J.Pain (1986) 2:159-173.

Kabat-Zinn, J., Lipworth, L. and Burney, R. The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain. J. Behav. Med. (1985) 8:163-190.

Kabat-Zinn, J. An out-patient program in Behavioral Medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation: Theoretical considerations and preliminary results. Gen. Hosp. Psychiatry (1982) 4:33-47.

Teasdale, JD, Segal, ZV, and Williams, JMC. How does cognitive therapy prevent depressive relapse and why should attentional control (mindfulness) help? Behav Res Ther (1995) 33:25-39.

Teasdale, JD. Metacognition, mindfulness and the modification of mood disorders. Clin Psychol Psychother (1999) 6:146-155.

Williams JMG, Teasdale JD, Segal ZV, and Soulsby J. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy reduces overgeneral autobiographical memory in formerly depressed patients. J Abnorm Psychol.