A Randomized Micro-Trial of a Loving-Kindness Meditation for Young Adults Living at Home with their Parents

Abstract

There is an increasing number of young adults living at home with their parents, and this can lead to tension and conflict in the family home. One way to help increase the pro-social interactions and connectedness between young adults and their parents is with using Loving-Kindness Meditations (LKM). There is considerable evidence suggesting that LKM, which is a cultivation of good-will for self and others, can have many direct benefits on psychological distress and interpersonal interactions, and can indirectly increase self-compassion. This study examined the effects of using a 15-min Loving-Kindness Meditation for young adults living. A total of 97 participants (79 female, mean age = 18.64 years), were randomly allocated to LKM or a Focused Imagery control. Participants completed measures examining self-compassion, compassion motivation, and emotional, cognitive and interpersonal responses to vignettes describing conflict between young adults and their parents. As predicted, compared to controls, young adults who received LKM were higher in motivation to be self-compassionate, however, there was no difference in levels of self-compassion. Initial fear of self-compassion influenced emotional responses on the vignettes. The findings suggest that self-compassion could assist young adults in managing their own internal distress when interacting with their parents.