Effect of anapanasati meditation on verbal aggression: A randomized controlled trial

Aggression is increasing in society, leading to health hazards. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of anapanasati meditation on verbal aggression in healthy individuals. In this randomized controlled trial, 140 participants were screened and 90 participants were randomly allocated to experimental and control groups, with 45 participants in each group. The Verbal Aggressiveness Scale (VAS) was used to assess the verbal aggression score, and anapanasati meditation was given as an intervention. The experimental group practiced anapanasati meditation every day for 6 months, and the control group did not receive any intervention. The experimental group showed a significant reduction in VAS (p < 0.01) score after the intervention, whereas the reduction was not significant in the control group. This study showed that after a 6-month intervention, verbal aggression decreased significantly in the experimental group compared with the control group.