Compassion-Based Meditation in African Americans: Self-Criticism Mediates Changes in Depression.
This study examines self-criticism as a mechanism through which compassion meditation reduces depressive symptoms in low-income African American men and women (N = 59) who had recently attempted suicide. After completing several measures, including the Levels of Self-Criticism Scale and Beck Depression Inventory-II, participants were randomly assigned to receive either a six-session compassion meditation (CM) group (Grady Compassion and Meditation Program) or a six-session support group. As predicted, path analysis results showed that treatment condition led to changes in self-criticism from pre- to posttreatment, with those receiving CM showing greater reductions in levels of self-criticism than those randomized to the support group. Path analyses also revealed that changes in self-criticism fully mediated the link between condition and changes in depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the importance and value of targeting levels of self-criticism in compassion-based interventions to reduce the depressive symptoms of suicidal African Americans.
Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Suzanne B
SB
Johnson
Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Bradley L
BL
Goodnight
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Huaiyu
H
Zhang
Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Irene
I
Daboin
Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Bobbi
B
Patterson
Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Nadine J
NJ
Kaslow
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019122:Meditation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012647:Self-Assessment