AUTHOR=Joss Diane , Khan Alaptagin , Lazar Sara W. , Teicher Martin H. 

TITLE=Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Self-Compassion and Psychological Health Among Young Adults With a History of Childhood Maltreatment

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2019

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02373

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02373

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Individuals who were maltreated during childhood are faced with increased risks for developing various psychological symptoms that are particularly resistant to traditional treatments. This pilot study investigated the effects of a mindfulness based behavioral intervention for young adults with childhood maltreatment history. This study looked at self-report psychological questionnaires from 20 subjects (5 males) before and after a mindfulness-based behavioral intervention, compared to 18 subjects (6 males) in the waiting list control group (age range 22-29); all subjects experienced mild-to-moderate childhood maltreatment. Our results showed that the mindfulness group had reduced stress (t(18) =-3.529, p = 0.002, d =0.809) and anxiety (t(19) = -2.945, p = 0.008, d = 0.659), as well as increased mindfulness (t(17) = 2.265, p = 0.037, d = 0.534) and self-compassion (t(15) = 4.505, p < 0.001, d = 1.126). No significant changes were observed in the waiting list control group. Linear mixed effects model analyses revealed significant group by time interaction on stress (F(1,36)=9.486, p = 0.004), anxiety (F(1,36) = 7.079, p = 0.012), and self-compassion (F(1,32) =11.159, p = 0.002). Partial correlation analyses showed that after controlling for group identity and childhood maltreatment severity, changes in mindfulness positively correlated with changes in self-compassion (r = 0.578, p = 0.001, df = 26), which negatively correlated with changes in depression (r = -0.374, p = 0.05, df = 27) and anxiety (r = -0.395, p = 0.034, df = 27). Changes in self-compassion mediated, in part, the relationship between changes in mindfulness and changes in anxiety (average causal mediation effect = -4.721, p = 0.014). We observed a dose-dependent effect of the treatment, i.e., the number of intervention sessions attended were negatively correlated with changes in stress (r = -0.674, p = 0.002, df = 16), anxiety (r = -0.580, p = 0.009, df = 17), and depression (r = -0.544, p = 0.020, df = 16), after controlling for the individual differences in childhood maltreatment severity. Our results suggest that, to some extent, the mindfulness-based intervention can be helpful for improving self-compassion and psychological health among young adults with a childhood maltreatment history.