Discrimination and Religious Experiences of Adult Muslimahs in Salaat

NCT06264011 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2023B0044
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 42
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This goal of this clinical trial is to examine the effects of the Muslim prayer (salaat) on physiological arousal among Muslim women. This study aims to measure EEG and HRV during the salaat performance among Muslim women. Using EEG as a measure of physiological relaxation, HRV will be utilized as a measure of stress experienced by Muslim women whose prayer have been understudied in research on the salaat. Thus, the main questions it aims to answer are 1) whether salaat performed by Muslim women influences physiological relaxation similar to what is seen by men, and 2) Evaluate health-related correlates of perceived discrimination among Muslim women. Participants will complete 15 questionnaires. Participants will be connected to a Heart Rate Variability (HRV) monitor as well as a 32-electrode EEG cap. After the baseline data are obtained, all participants will complete both conditions (salaat and counting) but the order of participation in conditions will be randomly assigned. The resting period will again occur between conditions and at the end of the second condition. All participants will pray the Duha prayer, an optional superogatory prayer that typically occurs in the early morning, to control for differences in timing and duration of prayer. The Duha is completed between the dawn and noon prayers and consists of four cycles of prayer as well as Qur'an recitation and supplication throughout the four positions. The salaat condition includes four cycles with four different positions during each cycle (standing with bowing at a 90-degree angle with both hands covering the knees, standing again briefly with arms at the sides, prostrating with forehead, hands, knees, and feet touching the ground, followed by sitting with knees bent under the torso, prostrating, and sitting again). The counting condition will include the same physical component as the salaat condition. This will include 4 cycles of movement through the four different positions (i.e., standing, bowing at a 90-degree angle with both hands covering the knees, standing again briefly with arms at the sides, prostrating with forehead, hands, knees, and feet touching the ground, followed by sitting with knees bent under the torso, prostrating, and a final sitting position in cycles two and four (see Figure 2)). Apart from not including the final sitting position, cycles one and three are identical to cycles two and four (see Figure 2). The counting condition will include replacing Qur'anic recitation and subsequent supplications throughout the prayer by counting "one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand, etc." throughout the duration of time typically required to perform the full salaat. During the standing position, counting can last for approximately 30-60 seconds in line with the previous study by Doufesh and colleagues (2012). Thus, the first three cycles of prayer will require approximately 77 seconds each while the final cycle will require around 97 seconds based on the estimates by Doufesh and colleagues (2012), for a total of approximately five and a half minutes. To ensure that participant duration during the counting condition is, on average, equivalent to the salaat condition, an audio recording will be provided with counting aloud during each position. The duration of the counting in the audio recording will be an average of the duration of each position as found in Doufesh and colleagues (2012). A bell sound will be used to indicate when participants should change to the next position. After performance of each condition, participants will return to a comfortable seated position. Participants will complete a questionnaire to rate their mental focus in the condition. Blood pressure will be measured at the end of each condition. While at rest, assessment of blood pressure, HRV, and EEG will be obtained from participants for 5 minutes between each condition and at the end of the study.

Conditions

Stress, Psychological; Control

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Relative power alpha

  Electroencephalography (EEG) is an indicator of relaxation. EEG, a measure of electrical brain activity in various regions of the brain (Luck, 2014), can be used to demonstrate changes in CNS activity attributable to relaxation (Jacobs \& Friedman, 2004). During performance of the salaat, HRV may be measured in frequency bands of low frequency (LF) ranging from about 0.04 - 0.15 Hz and high frequency (HF) ranging from about 0.15-0.40 Hz.

  Relative power alpha will be assessed beginning five minutes prior to the first condition (salaat/sham condition) and will continue through the study until five minutes after the second condition, for a total duration of around 30-45 minutes.

• High frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV)

  Using a heart-rate variability monitor, low sympathetic nervous system activity and higher peripheral nervous system (PNS) activity is measured as high frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV). Using a heart-rate variability monitor, low sympathetic nervous system activity and higher PNS activity is measured as high frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV).

  HF-HRV will be assessed beginning five minutes prior to the first condition (salaat/sham condition) and will continue through the study until five minutes after the second condition, for a total duration of around 30-45 minutes.

• The Body Perception Questionnaire Body Awareness Very Short Form (BPQ-VSF)

  The Body Perception Questionnaire Body Awareness Very Short Form BPQ-VSF is a 12-item self-report measure adapted from the shortened version of the 26-item BPQ-SF to assess Autonomic nervous system function using a single factor of body awareness (Kolacz et al., 2018). Categorical omega was calculated for internal consistency yielding .91 for the full scale (Cabrera et al., 2018). Test-retest reliability was .97 (Cabrera et al., 2018). Scores range from 12 - 60 with higher scores indicating greater ANS functioning.

  IPAQ-SF will be measured only during the baseline, a single time-point prior to the intervention.

Secondary Outcomes (10)

• The SF 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36)

  The SF-36 will be measured only during the baseline, a single time-point prior to the intervention.

• Modified International Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form (IPAQ-SF)

  IPAQ-SF will be measured only during the baseline, a single time-point prior to the intervention.

• Health Care Discrimination Scale (HCDS; Martin, 2015)

  The HCDS will be measured only during the baseline, a single time-point prior to the intervention.

• Perceived Religious Discrimination Scale (PRDS; Rippy & Newman, 2008)

  The PRDS will be measured only during the baseline, a single time-point prior to the intervention.

• The Internalized Islamophobia Scale

  The IIS will be measured only during the baseline, a single time-point prior to the intervention.

Study Arms (2)

Salaat

EXPERIMENTAL

The salaat consists of praying the Duha prayer, an optional superogatory prayer that typically occurs in the early morning, to control for differences in timing and duration of prayer. The Duha is completed between the dawn and noon prayers and consists of four cycles of prayer as well as Qur'an recitation and supplication throughout the four positions. The salaat condition includes four cycles with four different positions during each cycle (standing with bowing at a 90-degree angle with both hands covering the knees, standing again briefly with arms at the sides, prostrating with forehead, hands, knees, and feet touching the ground, followed by sitting with knees bent under the torso, prostrating, and sitting again).

Behavioral: Salaat

Counting

SHAM COMPARATOR

The counting condition will include the same physical component as the salaat condition. This will include 4 cycles of movement through the four different positions (i.e., standing, bowing at a 90-degree angle with both hands covering the knees, standing again briefly with arms at the sides, prostrating with forehead, hands, knees, and feet touching the ground, followed by sitting with knees bent under the torso, prostrating, and a final sitting position in cycles two and four. The counting condition will include replacing Qur'anic recitation and subsequent supplications throughout the prayer by counting "one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand, etc." throughout the duration of time typically required to perform the full salaat.

Other: Sham comparator

Interventions

Salaat BEHAVIORAL

While Muslims perform mandatory salaat (prayer) 5 times daily, the Duha salaat is an optional daily prayer consisting of 4 cycles of standing, bowing, standing again, prostrating, kneeling, and prostrating again. Research has shown that salaat may influence physiological relaxation.

Also known as: salaah, Prayer

Salaat

Sham comparator OTHER

Participants will count while mimicking the movements of the Duhaa salaat. This is a no-prayer condition in which the recitation of Qur'an is omitted for the sake of comparison.

Also known as: Counting condition, Sham condition

Counting

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 50 Years
• Gender Eligibility Details: All participants must be Muslim women.
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Adult Muslim women;
• Ages 18-55;
• Being ability to complete the salaat without assistance.

You may not qualify if:

• Being currently pregnant;
• Being post-menopausal or having a lack of regular menstrual cycles;
• Reporting a current neurological or psychological disorder;
• Receiving a score of greater than or equal to 9 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9);
• Being unable or unwilling to follow the requirements of the study protocol;
• Being unwilling or unable to complete the morning salaat unassisted;
• Being unable or unwilling to provide written informed consent.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ohio State University: lead

Study Sites (1)

The Ohio State University

Columbus, Ohio, 43016, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stress, Psychological

Interventions

Faith Healing

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Spiritual Therapies; Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics

Study Officials

• Charles F Emery, PhD

  Professor Emeritus

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Masking Details: This study uses a cross-sectional, repeated measures, crossover design. All participants will complete both conditions of the study but will be randomized to start in either the salaat or counting conditions.
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: There is one intervention (i.e., the prayer condition) and one control condition (i.e., the counting condition).

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 30, 2023
• First Posted: February 16, 2024
• Study Start: July 13, 2023
• Primary Completion: May 23, 2024
• Study Completion: May 23, 2024
• Last Updated: December 10, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-12

Locations

US (1)