Leveraging Mindfulness to Build Resilience and Professional Quality of Life in Human Service Professionals
Andrew Samy Helmy Hanna, Aileen M. Pidgeon
OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine May 15, 2018 DOI: 10.21926/obm.icm.1802007 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 46 |
| Population | Human service professionals |
| Intervention | Mindful-Awareness and Resilience Skills Training (MARST) |
| Duration | One-month follow-up |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 16 |
| Key findings | The MARST program significantly improved mindfulness, resilience, compassion satisfaction, and psychological well-being and significantly reduced burnout and compassion fatigue compared with a no-intervention control group, with results maintained at one-month follow-up except compassion satisfaction. Mindfulness fully mediated changes in resilience and psychological well-being, and mindfulness and resilience mediated reduced burnout, while resilience mediated reduced compassion fatigue. |
Abstract
Objective: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have shown promise in cultivating resilience and are widely accepted as efficacious in the treatment of a range of psychological disorders. This paper explores the feasibility of a Mindful-Awareness and Resilience Skills Training (MARST) program to enhance mindfulness and resilience, as a means of increasing psychological well-being and alleviating burnout and compassion fatigue in human service professionals.
Method: In this randomised control trial, 46 human service professionals were randomly allocated to either a MARST group or to a no intervention, control group.
Results: Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), with pre-test scores as the covariates, revealed that the MARST intervention resulted in significant improvements in mindfulness, resilience, compassion satisfaction, and psychological well-being, and significant reductions in burnout and compassion fatigue; at post-intervention. These results were maintained at one month follow-up, with the exception of compassion satisfaction which was non-significant. Mediation analysis using a bootstrap resampling method indicated that mindfulness fully mediated changes in resilience and psychological well-being, as a result of the MARST intervention. Self-reported reductions in burnout following the intervention were mediated by mindfulness and resilience, and decreased compassion fatigue was mediated by resilience.
Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the MARST program may assist in developing resilience and ameliorating burnout and compassion fatigue in human service professionals. The study also provides evidence for the potential of mindfulness-based approaches to enhance resilience.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Health Care Professionals: Results From a Randomized Trial. International Journal of Stress Management May 1, 2005
- Measuring mindfulness Contemporary Buddhism May 1, 2011
- Conceptualizing mindfulness and acceptance as components of psychological resilience to trauma. Trauma, violence & abuse October 1, 2011
and 1 more in the library