The Impact of the Core Transformation Process on Spirituality, Symptom Experience, and Psychological Maturity in a Mixed Age Sample in India: A Pilot Study.

Research indicates that spiritual and religious constructs have the potential to influence a broad range of outcomes such as health, well-being, and meaning, both positively and negatively. This study looked at the effect of an under studied psycho-spiritual approach, Core Transformation (CT), in reducing symptoms and promoting well-being. This study also examined whether the impact of CT would be moderated by age, with older participants evidencing better outcomes. Participants from an Indian convenience sample ( N = 189) ranging in age from 18 to 65 ( M = 34) received group training in CT and completed a battery of measures pretest and 4 weeks post-training, which included personality, spirituality, and psychosocial outcomes scales. Repeated-measures MANOVAs indicated significant improvements over time for both spirituality and symptom experience. Partial correlation analyses, controlling for the predictive effects of personality, reaffirmed the incremental validity of Spiritual Transcendence and religious variables in predicting symptom change and outcome ratings. CT did not appear to effect participants levels of psychological maturity. Age was not found to mediate any of these relationships, indicating the age universality of CT's therapeutic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]