Meditation Quality Matters: Effects of Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditations on Subjective Well-being are Associated with Meditation Quality.

Two studies of loving-kindness and compassion meditation training found that the quality of meditation practice—specifically difficulties with concentration and generating prosocial attitudes—was more strongly linked to improvements in subjective well-being than the amount of time spent meditating. In a small in-person study (41 participants) and a larger online study (243 participants), both short-term weekly and long-term changes in well-being were associated with meditation quality. The findings suggest that focusing on how well people meditate, rather than how long, may be key to increasing well-being through these practices.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Loving-kindness and compassion meditations (LKCM) are considered a promising practice for increasing long-term well-being. While previous studies have mainly focused on meditation practice quantity, the current study provides an initial exploration of the quality of meditation during multiweek LKCM training. Data were collected through offline (Study 1; N = 41) and online (Study 2; N = 243) LKCM interventions. Quality of meditation was measured using two kinds of difficulties experienced during LKCM each week/unit (i.e., difficulty in concentration and difficulty in generating prosocial attitudes). Subjective well-being (SWB) was assessed by life satisfaction before and after training as well as positive and negative emotions each week/unit. Two studies consistently suggested that meditation quality was significantly associated with changes in SWB. Study 1 even showed that quality had a stronger association with SWB than did meditation quantity. Moreover, both short-term (measured each week/unit) and long-term (measured across the entire training period) associations between the quality of meditation and SWB were significant. Focusing on meditation quality, our findings provide theoretical and methodological pathways for understanding the contribution of meditation practice to LKCM training, which is helpful for guiding future research and best practices. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10902-022-00582-7.