Systematic review finds small negative association between mindfulness and psychotic-like experiences

A systematic review and two meta-analyses that synthesised 17 papers report a modest association: higher trait mindfulness is linked with fewer psychotic-like experiences in nonclinical samples. As the review puts it, "This systematic review and meta-analyses provide the first synthesis of the literature on trait mindfulness and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs)." A pooled estimate from eight studies showed a small but statistically significant negative association: "a meta-analysis found a small, significant, negative association (n = 8; pooled correlation = –0.25; 95% Confidence Intervals [CI]: –0.37 to –0.13, p < .001)."

The review examined two main questions: the relationship between trait mindfulness and PLEs, and the effect of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on PLEs in nonclinical populations. Seventeen eligible papers were identified overall, and eleven explored the trait mindfulness–PLEs relationship. Authors combined narrative synthesis with meta-analytic techniques and used meta-regression to test moderators when data permitted. Databases searched included PsycINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Web of Science Core Collection, and ProQuest.

Methods details in related excerpts indicate systematic procedures were used: automated searches on large databases, duplicate removal with CADIMA, and dual independent abstract screening supported by Abstrackr. One search fragment reported 451 initial hits with 307 records after de-duplication, then 107 titles retained for screening and 24 abstracts selected for full review; the fragment notes that online interventions were excluded. These search counts are presented in the available excerpts but are not fully linked to every part of the review text supplied here.

Evidence on MBIs is less clear in the excerpts provided. A thesis chapter summarising the review notes that some trials reported benefits, with an incomplete excerpt reading "Five studies showed significant reductions in favour of ..." but the target outcome or comparator is truncated in the supplied text. That gap means specific effect sizes and the balance of evidence for MBIs on PLEs remain to be confirmed from the full report.

Safety reporting is an important practical issue for the mindfulness community. Related literature cited in the excerpts uses established frameworks for harm reporting and the CONSORT standards, and a previous review found no difference in adverse events for MBSR and MBCT in general mental health trials but did not include psychosis trials. That suggests closer attention to adverse-event monitoring in MBI trials involving psychosis-related experiences.

For meditators, teachers, and clinicians, the headline is cautiously encouraging: trait mindfulness is modestly associated with fewer psychotic-like experiences in nonclinical samples, but causality is not established and intervention evidence in the excerpts is incomplete. Monitor vulnerable participants, document adverse events, and favour transparent reporting. What comes next is clearer: obtain the full review and trial reports to check intervention effects, safety data, and heterogeneity, and expect follow-up work to pin down whether mindfulness training can reduce PLEs or simply correlates with lower PLEs in the general population.