Meditation buffers medical student compassion from the deleterious effects of depression.
Jennifer S Mascaro, Sean Kelley, Alana Darcher, Lobsang Negi, Carol M. Worthman, Andrew Miller, Charles L. Raison
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Population | Second-year medical students |
| Topics | Depression Meditation |
| Key findings | CBCT increased compassion and decreased loneliness and depression in medical students, with the greatest gains in compassion among those with high baseline depression. |
Abstract
Increasing data suggest that for medical school students the stress of academic and psychologicaldemands can impair social emotions that are a core aspect of compassion and ultimately physiciancompetence. Few interventions have proven successful for enhancing physician compassion inways that persist in the face of suffering and that enable sustained caretaker well-being. To addressthis issue, the current study was designed to (1) investigate the feasibility of cognitively-basedcompassion training (CBCT) for second-year medical students, and (2) test whether CBCT decreasesdepression, enhances compassion, and improves daily functioning in medical students. Comparedto the wait-list group, students randomized to CBCT reported increased compassion, and decreasedloneliness and depression. Changes in compassion were most robust in individuals reporting highlevels of depression at baseline, suggesting that CBCT may benefit those most in need by breakingthe link between personal suffering and a concomitant drop in compassion
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on depression, most cited first.