Loving-Kindness Meditation to Target Affect in Mood Disorders: A Proof-of-Concept Study
Stefan G. Hofmann, Nicola Petrocchi, James Steinberg, Muyu Lin, Kohki Arimitsu, Shelley Kind, Adriana Mendes, Ulrich Stangier
Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine January 1, 2015 DOI: 10.1155/2015/269126 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractLoving-kindness meditation (LKM), a practice aimed at cultivating unconditional kindness toward oneself and others, was tested as a brief group intervention for people with dysthymia or depression in two small, uncontrolled studies—one in Boston (10 participants) and one in Frankfurt (8 participants). At both centers, LKM was associated with large reductions in self-reported depression symptoms and negative affect, and large increases in positive affect. Clinician ratings also showed large improvements in depression, rumination, and specific positive emotions, with moderate gains in adaptive emotion regulation. Qualitative reports supported the intervention's potential. These proof-of-concept results warrant further controlled investigation.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Proof-of-concept, uncontrolled study Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 18 |
| Population | Adults with dysthymia or depression |
| Citations | 70 |
| Key finding | Loving-kindness meditation was associated with large improvements in depression symptoms, negative affect, and positive affect in two small uncontrolled trials. |
Abstract
Conventional treatments for mood disorders primarily focus on reducing negative affect, but little on enhancing positive affect. Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) is a traditional meditation practice directly oriented toward enhancing unconditional and positive emotional states of kindness towards oneself and others. We report here two independent and uncontrolled studies carried out at different centers, one in Boston, USA (n = 10), and one in Frankfurt, Germany (n = 8), to examine the potential therapeutic utility of a brief LKM group intervention for symptoms of dysthymia and depression. Results at both centers suggest that LKM was associated with large-sized effects on self-reported symptoms of depression (d = 3.33 and 1.90), negative affect (d = 1.98 and 0.92), and positive affect (d = 1.63 and 0.94). Large effects were also found for clinician-reported changes in depression, rumination and specific positive emotions, and moderate effects for changes in adaptive emotion regulation strategies. The qualitative data analyses provide additional support for the potential clinical utility of the intervention. This proof-of-concept evaluation of LKM as a clinical strategy warrants further investigation.