Effect of the intervention mindfulness based compassionate living on the - level of self - criticism and self – compassion

Abstract

Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living (MBCL) is an intervention developed to teach individuals to cope with physical, mental, emotional or relational stress in a healthy way. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of a short-term online version of the MBCL intervention on level of self-criticism and self-compassion in a non-clinical convenience sample. The participants were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. After the intervention and the follow-up, the experimental group consisted of 26 participants who were sent daily emails instructing them to complete the MBCL tasks for 15 consecutive days. At that time, the control group consisted of the remaining 24 participants who did not perform any of the tasks. Data collection was conducted through an online battery of questionnaires measuring level of self-criticism and self-compassion, which we administered three times – before the intervention, after the intervention and as a follow-up two months later. The data were analysed using the repeated measures ANOVA and paired samples t-test. In case of non- normal distribution, the Friedman test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used. The results showed a significant decrease in level of self-criticism and a significant increase in level of self-compassion after completion of the MBCL intervention, and the results persisted in the follow-up. The main limitations of our research are the small sample and high attrition rate. To conclude, the MBCL could also be administered in online format and have a lasting impact on self-criticism and self-compassion.