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Response to a mindful self-compassion intervention in teens: A within-person association of mindfulness, self-compassion, and emotional well-being outcomes.

Karen Bluth, Tory A. Eisenlohr‐Moul

Journal of adolescence April 14, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.04.001 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Pre-post cohort study with 6-week follow-up Peer reviewed
Sample size 47
Population Adolescents in the southeastern United States
Intervention Mindful self-compassion program
Duration 8-week course with assessments at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 6-week follow-up
Topics Anxiety Depression Meditation
Keywords Humans Cohort studies Stress, psychological Adolescent development Empathy Child Female Surveys and questionnaires Intervention Adolescents Emotional well-being Self-compassion
Key findings The mindful self-compassion program showed main effects of time on perceived stress, resilience, curiosity/exploration, and gratitude. Mindfulness and self-compassion co-varied with perceived stress and depressive symptoms; mindfulness also co-varied with anxiety, and self-compassion with resilience and curiosity/exploration. The authors propose the program has potential for decreasing stress and increasing resilience and positive risk-taking, but note that controlled studies are needed.

Abstract

As adolescence can be a stressful developmental stage, the purpose of this study was to determine if a novel mindful self-compassion program would decrease stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety and increase resilience, gratitude, and curiosity/exploration (positive risk-taking), and to ascertain if mindfulness and self-compassion co-varied with these outcomes over time. Forty-seven adolescents in the southeast U.S. enrolled in an 8-week mindful self-compassion course in five cohorts. Measures were assessed at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 6-week follow-up. Multilevel growth analyses revealed main effects of time on perceived stress, resilience, curiosity/exploration and gratitude. Additionally, both mindfulness and self-compassion co-varied with perceived stress and depressive symptoms; mindfulness also co-varied with anxiety and self-compassion co-varied with resilience and curiosity/exploration. Implications of these findings are that this program has potential in decreasing stress and increasing resilience and positive risk-taking. Future studies with a control group need to be conducted to confirm these findings.

Comparable studies

Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients 2003 Pre-post intervention study n = 59
Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample 2010 Pre-post intervention study
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students 2003 Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study n = 302
Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls 2011 Controlled trial with wait-list control group n = 60
The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents 2011 Within-group waitlist controlled trial n = 22

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Anxiety Depression Meditation