Abstract
Objectives
We aimed to examine how a standardized compassion meditation program would induce changes in the patterns of interactions among psychological variables.
Methods
We conducted network analyses on psychological variables before and after 96 participants completed an 8-week Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) program.
Results
After the CCT program, self-compassion variables increased their importance and influence in the network (i.e., centrality), whereas psychopathology and negative functioning variables (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression, and rumination) decreased their centrality. More importantly, self-compassion increased its associations with other adaptive variables (e.g., emotional reappraisal and mindfulness) after the program. Also, self-compassion, non-attachment, and decentering were the nodes connecting different sub-networks (i.e., bridge nodes), decoupling psychopathological variables (i.e., psychological distress and rumination) from the rest of the network. The variance of compassion, mindfulness, and well-being was mostly explained by other nodes in the network (i.e., predictability), whereas psychopathology-related constructs diminished in their predictability after the program.
Conclusions
These results highlight the role of self-compassion and other adaptive variables as the key mechanisms through which compassion meditation may produce its effects.
Trial Registration
ClinicalTrial.org (NCT03920241)
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Acknowledgments
The authors want to thank all participants for their generosity in voluntarily participating in the study. We thank all the Nirakara Lab members for their immense help and inspiration throughout the project. Finally, we also thank the MBSR and CCT instructors: Agustín Moñivas, Ana Arrabé, Gonzalo Brito, and Silvia Fernández.
Funding
This research was partially supported by a Spanish Ministry of Economy (MINECO) and Ministry of Science grants (PID2019-108711GB-I00) to CV and Real Colegio Complutense at Harvard/Santander Bank grant (CT27/16-CT28/16) to PR.
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PR and CV developed the study conception and design. Testing and data collection were performed by PR and GD. Data analysis and interpretation were performed by GD and PR. The first draft of the manuscript was written by PR, under the close supervision of CV and RM. PR, CV, and RM drafted the manuscript. All the authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
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Participants provided informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study. Furthermore, the study was approved by the Complutense University ethics committee prior to participant recruitment and was registered at ClinicalTrial.org (NCT03920241).
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Roca, P., Diez, G., McNally, R.J. et al. The Impact of Compassion Meditation Training on Psychological Variables: a Network Perspective. Mindfulness 12, 873–888 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01552-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01552-x