The Impact of Compassion Meditation Training on Psychological Variables: a Network Perspective
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ORIGINAL PAPER
The Impact of Compassion Meditation Training on Psychological Variables: a Network Perspective Pablo Roca 1,2
&
Gustavo Diez 2 & Richard J. McNally 3 & Carmelo Vazquez 1,2
Accepted: 5 November 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
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) Keywords Compassion . Meditation . Compassion Cultivation Training . CCT . Mechanisms . Network analysis
Compassion has long been a fundamental value in Eastern contemplative traditions, yet only in the last two decades has it received scientific interest (Gilbert 2019; Kim et al. 2020a). Using varying definitions of compassion, researchers have studied compassion from diverse perspectives addressing its emotional component (Goetz et al. 2010), its contribution to the concept of the self (Neff 2003b), and its motivational role (Gilbert 2019), among others. In an attempt to integrate these perspectives, Strauss et al. (2016) identified several common themes: (1) awareness (i.e., to recognize the suffering in * Pablo Roca [email protected] 1
School of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, 28223 Madrid, Spain
2
Nirakara Lab, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
3
Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
oneself and others); (2) universality (i.e., to understand that all human beings suffer); (3) empathy (i.e., emotional resonance with the person who is suffering, connecting with their distress); (4) acceptance (i.e., being able to tolerate one’s uncomfortable feelings and thoughts in response to suffering); and (5) motivation (i.e., to being motivated to
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