Interplay between self-compassion and affect during Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living for recurrent depression:...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Mental Health

Background:

• Recurrently depressed individuals often experience difficulties with self-compassion and emotional regulation.
• Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living (MBCL) is an intervention designed to foster these capacities.
• Understanding the interplay between self-compassion and affect is crucial for optimizing depression treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the session-to-session relationship between self-compassion and positive/negative affect within MBCL.
• To determine if self-compassion influences affect, or vice versa, during the intervention.
• To examine these dynamics in adults with a history of recurrent depression.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from a subsample (n=104) of a randomized controlled trial of MBCL.
• Collected self-report measures of self-compassion and positive/negative affect at the start of each of the eight MBCL sessions.
• Employed Bivariate Autoregressive Latent Trajectory (ALT) modeling to analyze temporal relationships.

Main Results:

• No significant reciprocal effects were found between self-compassion and positive affect.
• Negative affect did not predict subsequent self-compassion levels.
• Higher self-compassion at one session significantly predicted lower negative affect in the following session (b=-0.182, p=.017).

Conclusions:

• Increases in self-compassion during MBCL are prospectively associated with decreases in negative affect.
• Self-compassion appears to be a key mechanism through which MBCL may reduce negative emotional experiences in depression.
• These findings highlight the importance of cultivating self-compassion in interventions for recurrent depression.