Background: The current study aimed to investigate the possible interplay between self-compassion and affect during Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living (MBCL) in recurrently depressed... Show moreBackground: The current study aimed to investigate the possible interplay between self-compassion and affect during Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living (MBCL) in recurrently depressed individuals.Methods: Data was used from a subsample of a parallel-group randomized controlled trial investigating the efficacy of MBCL in recurrently depressed adults (n = 104). Self-reports of self-compassion and positive/negative affect were obtained at the start of each of the eight MBCL sessions.Results: Bivariate Autoregressive Latent Trajectory (ALT) modeling showed that, when looking at the interplay between self-compassion and positive/negative affect on a session-to-session basis, no significant reciprocal cross-lagged effects between self-compassion and positive affect were found. Although there were no cross-lagged effects from negative affect to self-compassion, higher levels of self-compassion at each session did predict lower levels of negative affect at the subsequent session (b(SC(t-1),NA(t)) = -0.182, s.e. = 0.076, p =.017).Conclusions: The current study shows that increases in self-compassion are followed by decreases in negative affect in MBCL for depression. Show less
Objectives Gaining knowledge of dynamic processes of mechanisms underlying mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for recurrent depression could help to improve treatment efficacy. The current... Show moreObjectives Gaining knowledge of dynamic processes of mechanisms underlying mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for recurrent depression could help to improve treatment efficacy. The current study examined the overall course and week-to-week associations of mindfulness and positive/negative affect during MBCT for recurrent depression. Methods Using data from the MOMENT study, 235 patients with recurrent depression in (partial) remission allocated to MBCT were included. Prior to each MBCT session, self-reports were obtained on mindfulness, positive affect, and negative affect. Results Autoregressive latent trajectory (ALT) modeling revealed that, across the MBCT course, larger increases in mindfulness were associated with larger increases in positive affect (r = .80,p < .050). Higher general levels of negative affect were associated with smaller increases in mindfulness over time (r = -.26,p < .001). Week-to-week effects showed no reciprocal cross-lagged effects between mindfulness and positive affect or negative affect, except for positive affect at session 2 which was positively associated with mindfulness at session 3 (r = .11,p < .050). Conclusions The current study supports a positive association in strength of increase between mindfulness and positive affect, while higher general levels of negative affect might be associated with smaller increases of mindfulness during MBCT for recurrent depression. For future research, experience sampling methods (ESMs) are recommended to capture dynamics on a smaller time scale. ALT modeling techniques are advised to be better able to interpret the processes of stability and change during MBCT for recurrent depression. Show less
Background Home practice is considered a key element in increasing treatment effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for depression. However, long-term longitudinal research... Show moreBackground Home practice is considered a key element in increasing treatment effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for depression. However, long-term longitudinal research into the associations between home practice and depression outcomes is scarce. The current study examined the prospective associations between the extent of formal home practice and subsequent depression severity during 15 months of follow-up. Methods Data from two randomized-controlled trials on MBCT for recurrent depression were used (n = 200). Depressive symptoms were assessed at 3-month intervals: 0 (baseline), 3 (posttreatment), 6, 9, 12, and 15 months. Formal home practice frequency was calculated for each 3-month period. Autoregressive latent trajectory (ALT) modelling was applied. Results Participants practiced formal exercises on 57% (SD = 0.22, range 0-1) of the days during MBCT, equivalent to an average of 4 days per week, which showed a rapid decline after MBCT. The level of depressive symptoms did not change over the full study period. A small positive association was found between formal home practice frequency during each three-month period on subsequent depressive symptoms, but sensitivity analyses did not confirm this. More robust, a small negative association was found between levels of depressive symptoms at each measurement point and formal home practice frequency during the subsequent three-month periods. Conclusions The hypothesis that more frequent home practice would lead to reductions in depressive symptoms was not confirmed in the current study. Rather, it seems that patients with higher levels of depression may subsequently practice less frequently at home. The interplay between home practice and outcome might not be as straightforward as expected. However, these results are preliminary and should be replicated first before recommendations for clinical practice can be formulated. Show less
