RESEACRH PROPOSAL

Submitted to the Director V.R.I.

Feb 22, 2023

Title of the Research Project:

Comparative Analysis of Resilience of Vipassana meditators and non-meditators at

Dhamma Ambika Vipassana Meditation Centre

Qualifications and Designations of the Project Organizer cum Chief Investigator and his Research
Team Members:

To ensure that the research design and implementation involve scientific rigour, a research team
including Vipassana Meditator, Psychologist, Psychiatrist and medical graduate intend to work
together to do justice to the Research Question. Team Members and their details are as under:

MEMBERS BRIEF PROFILE

Dr. Freya Desai M.B.B.S. Graduate, 2021 of Government Medical College, Surat.
Prior research work: 1. “Heart Rate Variability is reduced in
normal Pregnancy irrespective of trimester: A cross-sectional
study” – 2016-2020. Published in Journal of Family Medicine and
Primary Care in Feb 2020- 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1123_19.
2. “Effects of Intrauterine Instillation of Autologous Platelet-Rich-
Plasma on endometrial thickness and pregnancy outcome” –
2018-2023.
10-day Vipassana course done once and meditation practice for 1
hour daily in the morning.
Kamya Vyas Currently working as Assistant Psychologist at Divyam Institute of
Psychiatry.
B.A Psychology; Currently pursuing M.A in Clinical Psychology;
Research Work: Currently working on “Mediating role of Self
Esteem on relationship between Perceived Parenting Styles and
Resilience & Exploring pathways to Self-Transcendence through
Death Attitude and Locus of Control: Multiple Regression”.
Analysis.
Dr. Jayesh Thakrar Currently working as an Anesthetist at multiple hospitals.
FIAPM- Fellow in Intervention and Palliative Care
PhD Anesthesia
M.B.B.S. Diploma Anesthesia
Eight 10-day Vipassana course and five 3-day course. Meditation
practice 1 hour daily.
Dr. Timir Shah Proprietor at Divyam Institute of Psychiatry. Practicing for more
than 20 years.
M.D. Psychiatry
M.B.B.S. Government Medical College, Surat
 • Relevance of the Research to Vipassana

Numerous Research have established the benefits of Vipassana on well-being, anxiety, depression,
stress, emotional intelligence, ego defense mechanism, personality disorders, focus and
productivity. Vipassana not only benefits mental health but also aids physical health as a by-product,
like chronic pain, reflux and headaches. It not only assists with ailments but also instill a sense of
service, gratitude and kindness.

Although it’s essence is not aiding ailments but to purify mind through self-observation, to lead a
happy, meaningful life by achieving peace of mind. Having read various types of therapies and the
key variables most of them work around, Resilience was one of the Variables that yet haven’t been
researched much on. If study results show improvement in Resilience, Vipassana could prevent one
from being a victim of mental disorder. Multiple Qualitative studies highlights the impact of
Vipassana on Resilience in specific groups but none has established the finding quantitatively and on
a population not pertaining to a specific group. This study aims to address this gap by carrying out a
quantitative analysis to demonstrate the causality of Vipassana on Resilience and unveil the nitty-
gritty of this discourse.

This study may find its significance in future implication of Vipassana meditation as a preventive
measure for mental illness and subsequently spread the benefits of it in education sector, medical
institutes, industry and nation at large.

• Methodology in detail with a copy of the Research Protocol:

Research Methodology

It’s a quantitative type of study. Study design is a quasi-experimental design which enables one to
demonstrate causal impact of an intervention on a population without randomization. It will be
conducted in the old batch, i.e. the Experimental group and others who have never done Vipassana,
i.e. control group. Data of the aforementioned groups will be analyzed by comparative analysis to
find any causality.

Research design type and study groups

Quasi-experimental design will be used in this study to see causality of Vipassana Meditation on
Resilience in the target population. The study groups would be experimental group and a control
group. Experimental group will consist of meditators practicing Vipassana for a long time and control
group will be non-meditators with a similar demographic profile, targeting a sample size of about
200, 100 in each.

Research procedure

The experimental group will go through ‘Vipassana Meditation’, while the control group will not
undergo any intervention. 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC, Resilience
Questionnaire) developed by Drs. Campbell-Sills and Stein at University of San Diego, California
based on factor analysis will be devised for this study. Predictive Validity, test-retest reliability has
been proven acceptable by use of it in numerous studies across multiple countries to demonstrate
causality of intervention including medication, psychotherapy and other forms of intervention.
The Questionnaire consists of 10 questions of CD-RISC 10 and five questions on demographic profile
as to minimize the bias caused by confounding factors. Questionnaire will be printed on a sheet of
paper in multiple languages; English, Hindi and Gujarati, each tested for validity, which will take
about 5 minutes to answer.

Pre and post measures will be taken for the dependent variable – Resilience to establish the impact.
Participants will first be asked to consent and then be given the questionnaire. Paired t-test will then
be employed for comparative analysis using SPSS software.

• Estimated Duration of the Study:

The Study involves Scientific survey using the method as detailed above. Data Collection will start in
2023 post the approval of the Research Committee. It will take 1-2 months depending upon the
sample size. Subsequent analysis using SPSS software will be carried out using paired t-test followed
by drafting of the manuscript and submission of the thesis. The study is expected to be completed in
2023.

• Estimated Expenditure/ Budget of the Study:

The Resarch study will be carried out under the guidance of the Research team in collaboration with
V.R.I. I am not seeking any funding from V.R.I. and hereby declare that all expenses incurred in the
fieldwork or otherwise will be borne at my end.

MANGAL HO