Effects of Group Practice of the TranscendentalMeditation Program on Preventing Violent Crime in Washington, D.C.:Results of the National Demonstration Project, June--July 1993

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• 作者：Hagelin ; John S. ; Rainforth ; Maxwell V. ; Cavanaugh ; Kenneth L. C. ; Alexander ; Charles N. ; Shatkin ; Susan F. ; Davies ; John L. ; Hughes ; Anne O. ; Ross ; Emanuel ; Orme Johnson ; David W.
• 刊名：Social Indicators Research
• 出版年：1999
• 出版时间：1999
• 年：1999
• 卷：47
• 期：2
• 页码：153-201
• 全文大小：202 KB

文摘

This paper reports the results of aprospective experiment in which a group ofapproximately 4,000 participants in the TranscendentalMeditation and TM-Sidhi programs ofMaharishi Mahesh Yogi assembled in Washington, D.C.,from June 7 to July 30, 1993. It was hypothesizedthat levels of violent crime in the District ofColumbia would fall substantially during theDemonstration Project, as a result of the group'seffect of increasing coherence and reducing stress inthe collective consciousness of the District. A27-member Project Review Board comprising independentscientists and leading citizens approved the researchprotocol and monitored the research process. Weeklycrime data was derived from database records providedby the District of Columbia Metropolitan PoliceDepartment (DCMPD), which are used in the FBI UniformCrime Reports. Statistical analysis considered theeffect of weather variables, daylight, historicalcrime trends and annual patterns in the District ofColumbia, as well as trends in neighboring cities. Consistent with previous research, levels ofhomicides, rapes and assaults (HRA crimes) correlatedwith average weekly temperature. Robberiesapproximately followed an annually recurring cycle. Time series analysis of 1993 data, controlling fortemperature, showed that HRA crimes droppedsignificantly during the Demonstration Project,corresponding with increases in the size of the group;the maximum decrease was 23.3% (p < 2 ×10−9) [24.6% using a longer baseline, with1988--1993 data (p < 3 × 10−5)],coincident with the peak number of participants in thegroup during the final week of the assembly. When thesame period in each of the five previous years wasexamined, no significant decreases in HRA crimes werefound. Robberies did not decrease significantly. However, a model that jointly estimated the effect ofthe Demonstration Project on both HRA crimes androbberies showed a significant reduction in violentcrimes overall of 15.6% (p = 0.0008).Further analysis showed that the effect of thecoherence-creating group on reducing HRA crimes couldnot be accounted for by additional police staffing. The time series analysis for HRA crimes gave resultsthat are highly robust to alternative modelspecifications, and showed that the effect of thegroup size was cumulative and persisted after theDemonstration Project ended. Also, calculation of thesteady state gain based on the time series modelpredicted that a permanent group of 4,000coherence-creating experts in the District would havea long-term effect of reducing HRA crimes by 48%.