Randomized controlled trial of a brief online self-compassion intervention for mothers of infants: Effects on mental health outcomes
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Author(s)
Lennard, Georgina R
Mitchell, Amy E
Whittingham, Koa
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2020
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Show full item recordAbstract
Objective: To test the effectiveness of a brief self-compassion intervention in improving mental health outcomes for mothers of infants. Method: A randomized controlled trial study design was used. A community sample of mothers of infants (<2 years) completed measures of self-compassion, fears of compassion, psychological flexibility, depression, anxiety, stress, symptoms of posttraumatic stress, and infant feeding experiences. Mothers randomized to intervention received access to online self-compassion resources, and 248 mothers (intervention n = 94, waitlist-control n = 154) completed postintervention assessment 8 weeks ...
View more >Objective: To test the effectiveness of a brief self-compassion intervention in improving mental health outcomes for mothers of infants. Method: A randomized controlled trial study design was used. A community sample of mothers of infants (<2 years) completed measures of self-compassion, fears of compassion, psychological flexibility, depression, anxiety, stress, symptoms of posttraumatic stress, and infant feeding experiences. Mothers randomized to intervention received access to online self-compassion resources, and 248 mothers (intervention n = 94, waitlist-control n = 154) completed postintervention assessment 8 weeks later. Results: Overall, 62.8% (n = 59) of intervention participants accessed the resources per-protocol, and lower fear of compassion scores predicted resource use. At postintervention, mothers who used the resources had improved scores for posttraumatic stress symptoms (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.31–5.47, p =.028), depression (95% CI = 0.15–2.01, p =.023), self-compassionate action (95% CI = 0.41–3.45, p =.012), and engagement with compassion from others (95% CI = 0.22–5.49, p =.034) compared to waitlist-control. Fears of compassion moderated intervention effectiveness. There were no effects on other outcome variables. Conclusions: Findings support the potential effectiveness of interventions based on compassion-focused therapy to improve maternal mental health.
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View more >Objective: To test the effectiveness of a brief self-compassion intervention in improving mental health outcomes for mothers of infants. Method: A randomized controlled trial study design was used. A community sample of mothers of infants (<2 years) completed measures of self-compassion, fears of compassion, psychological flexibility, depression, anxiety, stress, symptoms of posttraumatic stress, and infant feeding experiences. Mothers randomized to intervention received access to online self-compassion resources, and 248 mothers (intervention n = 94, waitlist-control n = 154) completed postintervention assessment 8 weeks later. Results: Overall, 62.8% (n = 59) of intervention participants accessed the resources per-protocol, and lower fear of compassion scores predicted resource use. At postintervention, mothers who used the resources had improved scores for posttraumatic stress symptoms (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.31–5.47, p =.028), depression (95% CI = 0.15–2.01, p =.023), self-compassionate action (95% CI = 0.41–3.45, p =.012), and engagement with compassion from others (95% CI = 0.22–5.49, p =.034) compared to waitlist-control. Fears of compassion moderated intervention effectiveness. There were no effects on other outcome variables. Conclusions: Findings support the potential effectiveness of interventions based on compassion-focused therapy to improve maternal mental health.
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Journal Title
Journal of Clinical Psychology
Volume
77
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Randomized controlled trial of a brief online self-compassion intervention for mothers of infants: Effects on mental health outcomes, Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2020, 77 (3), pp. 473-487, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23068. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving (http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-828039.html)
Subject
Psychology
Cognitive and computational psychology
Social Sciences
Psychology, Clinical
birth
compassion