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Whitaker RC, Payne GB, O’Neill MA, Brennan MM, Herman AN, Dearth-Wesley T, Weil HF. Trauma-Informed Undergraduate Medical Education: A Pathway to Flourishing with Adversity by Enhancing Psychological Safety. PERSPECTIVES ON MEDICAL EDUCATION 2024; 13:324-331. [PMID: 38863986 PMCID: PMC11166023 DOI: 10.5334/pme.1173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
We describe the Life Experiences Curriculum (LEC), which attempts to integrate medical student well-being with trauma-informed medical education. The long-term goal of LEC is to help medical students flourish with adversity and trauma, where flourishing refers to having a sense of purpose that arises from awareness of one's strengths and limitations, shaped by life experiences. The short-term goal of LEC is to develop students' relational capacities, such as acceptance and awareness of self and others, while building and maintaining students' psychological safety. We describe the conceptual rationale for these goals and the curriculum's development, implementation, evaluation, and limitations. The curriculum extends over four years and involves a preclinical seminar and students' individual and group reflection sessions with LEC faculty. The seminar addresses the coexistence of trauma and flourishing across life experiences, as well as how safety in relationships is impaired by traumatic experiences and must be restored for healing and growth. The physician faculty have no role in student evaluation and co-lead all LEC activities. LEC is intended to provide students with new language for understanding the process of trauma and flourishing in both individuals and systems and to build and sustain students' relational capacities. There are ongoing efforts to re-imagine self-care as communal-care in which care and support are given and received in a community of students and faculty. Such a model may help build the relational capacities needed to deliver trauma-informed care and also promote flourishing with adversity in healers and in those seeking to be healed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert C. Whitaker
- Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, US
- Director of Research and Research Education in the Columbia-Bassett Program, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, US
- Bassett Medical Center and Bassett Research Institute, Cooperstown, NY, US
| | - Georgia B. Payne
- Second year medical student in the Columbia-Bassett Program, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, US
| | - Maeve A. O’Neill
- Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, US
| | - Megan M. Brennan
- Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, US
| | - Allison N. Herman
- Bassett Medical Center and Bassett Research Institute, Cooperstown, NY, US
- Research Associate in the Columbia-Bassett Program, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, US
| | - Tracy Dearth-Wesley
- Bassett Medical Center and Bassett Research Institute, Cooperstown, NY, US
- Senior Research Associate in the Columbia-Bassett Program, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, US
| | - Henry F.C. Weil
- Professor of Clinical Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, US
- Senior Associate Dean for the Columbia-Bassett Program, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, US and Bassett Medical Center and Bassett Research Institute, Cooperstown, NY, US
- Chief Operating Officer of Bassett Medical Center, Cooperstown, NY, US
- Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Academic Officer of Bassett Healthcare Network, Cooperstown, NY, US
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Conklin QA, Zanesco AP, King BG, Epel ES, Saron CD. Changes in peripheral oxytocin and vasopressin during a silent month-long Insight meditation retreat. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2024; 15:1345527. [PMID: 38863930 PMCID: PMC11165068 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1345527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Given its putative roles in mediating prosocial behavior, attachment bonds, and stress physiology, oxytocin modulation has been hypothesized to be a biological correlate of the salubrious effects of meditation practice. Here we investigated the effects of a month-long silent meditation retreat on changes in oxytocin, and the related hormone and vasopressin, in relation to psychosocial changes in attachment style, anxiety, personality measures, and feelings of social connectedness with fellow meditators. Methods Plasma oxytocin and vasopressin and self-report questionnaires were measured in retreat participants (n = 28) at the beginning of, and 3 weeks into, a residential meditation retreat. Control participants (n = 34), who were similar in age, gender, and meditation experience, were also assessed across a 3-week interval. Linear mixed effects models were used to assess outcomes. Results The retreat group showed a small but significant decrease in oxytocin compared to controls who showed no change. In the retreat group, higher openness to experience at Time 1 predicted greater reductions in oxytocin during the retreat, and lower oxytocin at Time 2 was related to stronger feelings of personal connection with fellow meditators. The changes in oxytocin were not related to attachment style or anxiety. Vasopressin decreased over time across both groups, suggesting no specific effect of retreat. Conclusion These preliminary findings suggest that meditation training in the context of a silent residential retreat may reduce circulating levels of oxytocin. We interpret this finding from multiple theoretical perspectives, discussing key measurement limitations and proposing future study designs that may help to differentiate the effects of different meditation practices and contexts on oxytocin signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quinn A. Conklin
- Center for Health and Community, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Anthony P. Zanesco
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Brandon G. King
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Elissa S. Epel
- Center for Health and Community, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Clifford D. Saron
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- The MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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Schlosser M, Klimecki OM, Collette F, Gonneaud J, Kliegel M, Marchant NL, Chételat G, Lutz A. An 18-month meditation training selectively improves psychological well-being in older adults: A secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0294753. [PMID: 38039341 PMCID: PMC10691714 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES As the world population is ageing, it is vital to understand how older adults can maintain and deepen their psychological well-being as they are confronted with the unique challenges of ageing in a complex world. Theoretical work has highlighted the promising role of intentional mental training such as meditation practice for enhancing human flourishing. However, meditation-based randomised controlled trials in older adults are lacking. We aimed to investigate the effects of meditation training on psychological well-being in older adults. METHODS This study presents a secondary analysis of the Age-Well trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02977819), which randomised 137 healthy older adults (age range: 65 to 84 years) to an 18-month meditation training, an active comparator (English language training), or a passive control. Well-being was measured at baseline, mid-intervention, and 18-month post-randomisation using the Psychological Well-being Scale (PWBS), the World Health Organisation's Quality of Life (QoL) Assessment psychological subscale, and composite scores reflecting the meditation-based well-being dimensions of awareness, connection, insight, and a global score comprising the average of these meditation-based dimensions. RESULTS The 18-month meditation training was superior to English training on changes in the global score (0.54 [95% CI: 0.26, 0.82], p = 0.0002) and the subscales of awareness, connection, insight, and superior to no-intervention only on changes in the global score (0.54 [95% CI: 0.26, 0.82], p = 0.0002) and awareness. Between-group differences in psychological QoL in favour of meditation did not remain significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons. There were no between-group differences in PWBS total score. Within the meditation group, psychological QoL, awareness, insight, and the global score increased significantly from baseline to 18-month post-randomisation. CONCLUSION The longest randomised meditation training conducted to date enhanced a global composite score reflecting the meditation-based well-being dimensions of awareness, connection, and insight in older adults. Future research is needed to delineate the cognitive, affective, and behavioural factors that predict responsiveness to meditation and thus help refine the development of tailored meditation training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Schlosser
- Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olga M. Klimecki
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Fabienne Collette
- GIGA-CRC In Vivo Imaging, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
- Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Julie Gonneaud
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, INSERM, U1237, PhIND "Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders", Neuropresage Team, Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Matthias Kliegel
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Natalie L. Marchant
- Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Gaël Chételat
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, INSERM, U1237, PhIND "Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders", Neuropresage Team, Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Antoine Lutz
- Eduwell Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center Inserm U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon 1 University, Lyon, France
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Liu C, Chen H, Zhang A, Gong X, Wu K, Liu CY, Chiou WK. The effects of short video app-guided loving-kindness meditation on college students' mindfulness, self-compassion, positive psychological capital, and suicide ideation. PSICOLOGIA-REFLEXAO E CRITICA 2023; 36:32. [PMID: 37902928 PMCID: PMC10616025 DOI: 10.1186/s41155-023-00276-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The study investigated the effects of a short video app guided loving-kindness meditation (LKM) on college students' mindfulness, self-compassion, positive psychological capital, and suicide ideation. The purpose of the study is to investigate the intervention effect of LKM training on suicidal ideation among college students with the help of the short video application and to provide an empirical basis for the exploration of early suicide intervention strategies for college students. METHODS We recruited 80 college students from a university in China. The final 74 eligible participants were divided into two groups: app use group (n = 37) and the control group (n = 37). The app group accepted an 8-week app use interference, while the control group underwent no interference. We measured four major variable factors (mindfulness, self-compassion, positive psychological capital, and suicide ideation) before and after the app use intervention. RESULTS In the app group, self-compassion and positive psychological capital were significantly higher, and suicide ideation was significantly lower than the control group. In the control group, there were no noticeable differences in any of the four variables between the pre-test and post-test. CONCLUSIONS Our findings demonstrate that the short video app guided LKM may help to improve self-compassion, and positive psychological capital, and reduce suicide ideation. The finding of the short video app-guided LKM's effect extends our understanding of the integrative effects of positive psychology and digital media on the reduction of suicide ideation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Liu
- School of Journalism and Communication, Hua Qiao University, Xiamen, 361021, China
- Business Analytics Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 33302, Taiwan
| | - Hao Chen
- Business Analytics Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 33302, Taiwan
- School of Film Television & Communication, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, China
| | - Ayuan Zhang
- Teachers College, Beijing Union University, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - XiaoGang Gong
- College of Special Education, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Kan Wu
- Business Analytics Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 33302, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Yih Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Ko Chiou
- Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei, Taiwan.
- Department of Industrial Design, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
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5
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Cernadas Curotto P, Halperin E, Sander D, Klimecki O. Getting closer: compassion training increases feelings of closeness toward a disliked person. Sci Rep 2023; 13:18339. [PMID: 37884610 PMCID: PMC10603062 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45363-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Evidence-based interventions to favor more harmonious interactions in difficult relationships remain scarce. This study examined whether compassion training may have beneficial effects in an ongoing tense relationship with a disliked person, by reducing schadenfreude toward them and increasing felt interpersonal closeness. 108 participants were assigned to one of three 5-week trainings in a longitudinal randomized controlled study: compassion training, reappraisal training (emotion regulation control condition), or Italian language training (neutral active control condition). The disliked person was not targeted during the trainings to test potential transfer effects. Misfortune scenarios and a measure of interpersonal closeness were used to test whether schadenfreude and closeness feelings toward a disliked person changed from pre- to post-training, across different experimental and control groups. Only compassion and reappraisal trainees reported a decrease of schadenfreude feelings toward the disliked person compared to their pre-training ratings, no changes were observed in the Italian language training. Importantly, feelings of closeness toward the disliked person increased in the compassion training group compared to the other two groups. This increase of closeness feelings could be a central mechanism for improving social interactions. These transfer effects open new perspectives concerning emotion regulation interventions in conflict resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Cernadas Curotto
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Laboratory for the Study of Emotion Elicitation and Expression, Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d'Arve 40, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Eran Halperin
- Psychology of Intergroup Conflict and Reconciliation Laboratory, Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - David Sander
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland
- Laboratory for the Study of Emotion Elicitation and Expression, Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d'Arve 40, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olga Klimecki
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Am Steiger 3, Haus 1, 07743, Jena, Germany
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6
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Wilson-Mendenhall CD, Dunne JD, Davidson RJ. Visualizing Compassion: Episodic Simulation as Contemplative Practice. Mindfulness (N Y) 2023; 14:2532-2548. [PMID: 37982041 PMCID: PMC10655951 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-022-01842-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Contemplative interventions designed to cultivate compassion are receiving increasing empirical attention. Accumulating evidence suggests that these interventions bolster prosocial motivation and warmth towards others. Less is known about how these practices impact compassion in everyday life. Here we consider one mechanistic pathway through which compassion practices may impact perception and action in the world: simulation. Evidence suggests that vividly imagining a situation simulates that experience in the brain as if it were, to a degree, actually happening. Thus, we hypothesize that simulation during imagery-based contemplative practices can construct sensorimotor patterns in the brain that prime an individual to act compassionately in the world. We first present evidence across multiple literatures in Psychology that motivates this hypothesis, including the neuroscience of mental imagery and the emerging literature on prosocial episodic simulation. Then, we examine the specific contemplative practices in compassion-based interventions that may construct such simulations. We conclude with future directions for investigating how compassion-based interventions may shape prosocial perception and action in everyday life.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - John D. Dunne
- Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Richard J. Davidson
- Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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Colaianne BA, Lavelle BD, Small ML, Roeser RW. Cultivating Compassion for Self and Others: A School-Based Pilot Study for Peer-Nominated Caring Adolescents. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE 2023; 33:169-187. [PMID: 35999818 DOI: 10.1111/jora.12795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Many have called for school-based student programs that teach skills related to self-care and caring for others. Here, such a program for peer-nominated adolescents was developed and piloted virtually at one high school during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of a longitudinal, quasi-experimental evaluation of the program showed high-quality program implementation and promising program impacts. Effect sizes indicated moderate to large program impacts on improvements in adolescents' self-compassion, sense of interdependence, and perspective-taking, and female adolescents' interoceptive awareness, compared to controls. No group differences in compassion for others were found. The need for more research on programs that help adolescents balance compassion for the self and for others is discussed.
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Riordan KM, MacCoon DG, Barrett B, Rosenkranz MA, Chungyalpa D, Lam SU, Davidson RJ, Goldberg SB. Does meditation training promote pro-environmental behavior? A cross-sectional comparison and a randomized controlled trial. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022; 84:101900. [PMID: 36969767 PMCID: PMC10035784 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Meditation training may promote pro-environmental behavior and related variables, though limited research has tested this experimentally. We investigated whether short- or long-term meditation training were associated with pro-environmental behavior, environmental attitudes, and sustainable well-being (i.e., well-being per unit consumption). In a cross-sectional comparison, long-term meditators (n=31; mean=9,154 meditation hours) displayed greater environmental attitudes (d=0.63) but not pro-environmental behavior or sustainable well-being compared to meditation-naïve participants (ds=-0.14-0.27). In a randomized controlled trial (n=125), eight-week training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction did not significantly improve target variables relative to waitlist or structurally-matched active control (ds=-0.38-0.43). However, relative to waitlist, randomization to either meditation or active control predicted increases in pro-environmental behavior (d=-0.40) and sustainable well-being (d=0.42), although the latter finding was not robust to multiple imputation. While meditation training may promote pro-environmental behavior and its antecedents, the training investigated here does not appear to be uniquely effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin M. Riordan
- Center for Healthy Minds and Department of Counseling
Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States
| | - Donal G. MacCoon
- Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
And Madison Psychiatric Associates, United States
| | - Bruce Barrett
- Department of Family Medicine and Community Health,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States
| | - Melissa A. Rosenkranz
- Center for Healthy Minds, Department of Psychiatry,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States
| | - Dekila Chungyalpa
- Loka Initiative and Center for Healthy Minds, University of
Wisconsin-Madison, United States
| | - Sin U Lam
- Center for Healthy Minds and Department of Counseling
Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States
| | - Richard J. Davidson
- Center for Healthy Minds, Department of Psychology, And
Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States
| | - Simon B. Goldberg
- Center for Healthy Minds and Department of Counseling
Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States
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9
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Addiss DG, Richards A, Adiabu S, Horwath E, Leruth S, Graham AL, Buesseler H. Epidemiology of compassion: A literature review. Front Psychol 2022; 13:992705. [DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.992705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychology and neuroscience have contributed significantly to advances in understanding compassion. In contrast, little attention has been given to the epidemiology of compassion. The human experience of compassion is heterogeneous with respect to time, place, and person. Therefore, compassion has an epidemiology, although little is known about the factors that account for spatial or temporal clustering of compassion or how these factors might be harnessed to promote and realize a more compassionate world. We reviewed the scientific literature to describe what is known about “risk factors” for compassion towards others. Studies were included if they used quantitative methods, treated compassion as an outcome, and used measures of compassion that included elements of empathy and action to alleviate suffering. Eighty-two studies met the inclusion criteria; 89 potential risk factors were tested 418 times for association with compassion. Significant associations with compassion were found for individual demographic factors (e.g., gender, religious faith); personal characteristics (e.g., emotional intelligence, perspective-taking, secure attachment); personal experience (e.g., previous adversity); behaviors (e.g., church attendance); circumstantial factors during the compassion encounter (e.g., perceptions of suffering severity, relational proximity of the compassion-giver and -receiver, emotional state of the compassion-giver); and organizational features. Few studies explored the capacity to receive, rather than give, compassion. Definitions and measures of compassion varied widely across disciplines; 87% of studies used self-report measures and 39% used a cross-sectional design. Ten randomized clinical trials documented the effectiveness of compassion training. From an epidemiologic perspective, most studies treated compassion as an individual host factor rather than as transmissible or influenced by time or the environment. The causal pathways leading from suffering to a compassionate response appear to be non-linear and complex. A variety of factors (acting as effect modifiers) appear to be permissive of—or essential for—the arising of compassion in certain settings or specific populations. Future epidemiologic research on compassion should take into account contextual and environmental factors and should elucidate compassion-related dynamics within organizations and human systems. Such research should be informed by a range of epidemiologic tools and methods, as well as insights from other scientific disciplines and spiritual and religious traditions.
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Mascaro JS, Florian MP, Ash MJ, Palmer PK, Sharma A, Kaplan DM, Palitsky R, Grant G, Raison CL. Learning Compassion and Meditation: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of the Experience of Novice Meditators. Front Psychol 2022; 13:805718. [PMID: 35450333 PMCID: PMC9017646 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.805718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the last decade, numerous interventions and techniques that aim to engender, strengthen, and expand compassion have been created, proliferating an evidence base for the benefits of compassion meditation training. However, to date, little research has been conducted to examine individual variation in the learning, beliefs, practices, and subjective experiences of compassion meditation. This mixed-method study examines changes in novice meditators' knowledge and contemplative experiences before, during, and after taking an intensive course in CBCT® (Cognitively-Based Compassion Training), a contemplative intervention that is increasingly used for both inter- and intrapersonal flourishing. The participants in this study (n = 40) were Christian healthcare chaplains completing a 1-year residency in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) who learned CBCT as part of their professional chaplaincy training curriculum. Prior to and upon completion of training, we surveyed participants to assess their beliefs about the malleability of compassion, types of engagement in compassion meditation, and perceptions of the impact of taking CBCT. We also conducted in-depth interviews with a subset of participants to gain a qualitative understanding of their subjective experiences of learning and practicing compassion meditation, a key component of CBCT. We found that participants reported increases in the extent to which they believed compassion to be malleable after studying CBCT. We also found high levels of variability of individual ways of practicing and considered the implications of this for the study of contemplative learning processes. This multi-methodological approach yielded novel insights into how compassion practice and compassion-related outcomes interrelate, insights that can inform the basic scientific understanding of the experience of learning and enacting compassion meditation as a means of strengthening compassion itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer S Mascaro
- Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States.,Department of Spiritual Health, Emory University Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Marianne P Florian
- Graduate Division of Religion, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Marcia J Ash
- Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Patricia K Palmer
- Department of Spiritual Health, Emory University Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Anuja Sharma
- Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Deanna M Kaplan
- Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Roman Palitsky
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - George Grant
- Department of Spiritual Health, Emory University Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Charles L Raison
- Department of Spiritual Health, Emory University Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Atlanta, GA, United States
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Lundgren O, Osika W. Cultivating the Interpersonal Domain: Compassion in the Supervisor-Doctoral Student Relationship. Front Psychol 2021; 12:567664. [PMID: 34093296 PMCID: PMC8176922 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.567664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The long-term and complex supervisor-doctoral student relationship is often characterised by tension and frictions. In higher education research, models, and interventions that take the potential beneficial interpersonal effects of compassion into account seem to be scarce. Hence, the aim of this study was to conceptualise the potential role compassion could have in the cultivation of an affiliative and sustainable supervisor-doctoral student relationship. The concept of compassion was investigated and analysed in relation to a contemporary model of supervisor behaviours. Furthermore, a systematic literature search in the scientific databases PubMed, PsychInfo, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar was performed. The conceptual analysis revealed that the interpersonal domain, in which compassion could afford a shared sense of warmth, is neglected in previous definitions. Furthermore, the integration of compassion into a model of adaptive supervisor behaviour indicates a strong case for a salutary role for compassion in the supervisor-doctoral student relationship. However, the literature review showed that empirical data are lacking, and more studies are needed. The role of compassion deserves to be investigated empirically in this particular interpersonal context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oskar Lundgren
- Division of Children's and Women's Health, Crown Princess Victoria Children's Hospital, Linköping, Sweden.,Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Walter Osika
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Center for Social Sustainability, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institute & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden
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Mascaro JS, Florian MP, Ash MJ, Palmer PK, Frazier T, Condon P, Raison C. Ways of Knowing Compassion: How Do We Come to Know, Understand, and Measure Compassion When We See It? Front Psychol 2020; 11:547241. [PMID: 33132956 PMCID: PMC7561712 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.547241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the last decade, empirical research on compassion has burgeoned in the biomedical, clinical, translational, and foundational sciences. Increasingly sophisticated understandings and measures of compassion continue to emerge from the abundance of multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary studies. Naturally, the diversity of research methods and theoretical frameworks employed presents a significant challenge to consensus and synthesis of this knowledge. To bring the empirical findings of separate and sometimes siloed disciplines into conversation with one another requires an examination of their disparate assumptions about what compassion is and how it can be known. Here, we present an integrated theoretical review of methodologies used in the empirical study of compassion. Our goal is to highlight the distinguishing features of each of these ways of knowing compassion, as well as the strengths and limitations of applying them to specific research questions. We hope this will provide useful tools for selecting methods that are tailored to explicit objectives (methods matching), taking advantage of methodological complementarity across disciplines (methods mixing), and incorporating the empirical study of compassion into fields in which it may be missing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer S. Mascaro
- Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | | | - Marcia J. Ash
- Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Patricia K. Palmer
- Department of Spiritual Health, Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Tyralynn Frazier
- Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Paul Condon
- Department of Psychology, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR, United States
| | - Charles Raison
- School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, United States
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Condon P, Makransky J. Sustainable Compassion Training: Integrating Meditation Theory With Psychological Science. Front Psychol 2020; 11:2249. [PMID: 33041897 PMCID: PMC7518715 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Meditation programs continue to proliferate in the modern world, with increasing participation from scientists and many others who seek to improve physical, mental, relational, and social flourishing. In developing such programs, the meditation practices have been adapted to meet the needs of modern cultures. However, through that adaptation, important contextual factors of traditional contemplative cultures are often dropped or forgotten. This article presents a system of compassion and mindfulness training, Sustainable Compassion Training (SCT), which is designed to help people cultivate increasingly unconditional, inclusive, and sustainable care for self and others. SCT aims to recover important contextual factors of meditation that flexibly meet the diverse needs of modern secular and religious participants. SCT draws on Tibetan Buddhism in dialogue with caregivers, other contemplative traditions and relevant scientific theories to inform meditative transformation for secular contexts. We provide an overview of SCT meditations that includes both contemplative and scientific theories that draw out important features of them. Each meditation includes novel hypotheses that are generated from this dialogical process. We also provide links to audio-guided meditations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Condon
- Department of Psychology, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR, United States
| | - John Makransky
- Department of Theology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, United States
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Quaglia JT, Soisson A, Simmer-Brown J. Compassion for self versus other: A critical review of compassion training research. JOURNAL OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2020.1805502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jordan T. Quaglia
- Department of Contemplative Psychology, Naropa University, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Annelyse Soisson
- Department of Contemplative Psychology, Naropa University, Boulder, CO, USA
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