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Efficacy of a single session mindfulness based intervention: A randomized clinical trial.

PloS one
January 1, 2024
Mikael Rubin et al. (3 authors)
Randomized Controlled TrialJournal ArticleHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a single-session mindfulness-based telehealth intervention, with and without a compassion component, in reducing loneliness, perceived stress, depression, and anxiety compared to a waitlist control.

Results Summary

The study found that a single-session mindfulness and compassion intervention led to meaningful reductions in perceived stress, anxiety, and depression, but not loneliness, at the 1-week follow-up compared to the waitlist control. The mindfulness-only intervention did not show significant effects on these outcomes.

Population

91 adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effective Dosage

One-hour telehealth session.

Duration

Single session with 1-week follow-up.

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (11)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
one-hour mindfulness only telehealth intervention
neutral
-
91 adults
-
-
#1
one-hour mindfulness and compassion telehealth intervention
neutral
-
91 adults
-
-
#2
one-week waitlist control
neutral
-
91 adults
-
-
#3
inclusion of a compassion component
decrease
perceived stress
-
b = -3.75, 95% HDI [-6.95, -0.59]
led to meaningful reductions
#4
inclusion of a compassion component
decrease
anxiety
-
b = -3.79, 95% HDI [-6.99, -0.53]
led to meaningful reductions
#5
inclusion of a compassion component
decrease
depression
-
b = -3.01, 95% HDI [-5.22, -0.78]
led to meaningful reductions
#6
inclusion of a compassion component
no change
loneliness
-
-
but not
#7
single-session mindfulness and compassion intervention
decrease
perceived stress
-
-
may lead to meaningful reductions
#8
single-session mindfulness and compassion intervention
decrease
symptoms of anxiety
-
-
may lead to meaningful reductions
#9
single-session mindfulness and compassion intervention
decrease
symptoms of depression
-
-
may lead to meaningful reductions
#10
single-session mindfulness and compassion intervention
no change
loneliness
-
-
but not
#11
Abstract

Loneliness, perceived stress, depression, and anxiety have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of existing mindfulness and compassion-based intervention are effective, but are time-intensive, decreasing overall accessibility and scalability. Single-session interventions (SSIs) serve as a promising alternative. The current pre-registered randomized clinical trial evaluated a newly developed, manualized, mindfulness-based single-session intervention. 91 adults were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) one-hour mindfulness only telehealth intervention; (b) one-hour mindfulness and compassion telehealth intervention; or (c) one-week waitlist control (before randomization to an active intervention). Intervention sessions were conducted by graduate students in clinical psychology. The primary outcome was self-reported loneliness; secondary outcomes were self-reported perceived stress, depression, and anxiety. Using Bayesian multilevel models, we found that compared to the waitlist-control, the inclusion of a compassion component led to meaningful reductions in perceived stress b = -3.75, 95% HDI [-6.95, -0.59], anxiety b = -3.79, 95% HDI [-6.99, -0.53], and depression b = -3.01, 95% HDI [-5.22, -0.78], but not loneliness at the 1-week follow-up. Results suggest that a single-session mindfulness and compassion intervention may lead to meaningful reductions in perceived stress, symptoms of anxiety, and symptoms of depression, but not loneliness. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
AdultHumansMindfulnessDepressionBayes TheoremPandemicsAnxiety
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy75/10
Quality85/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations3
Citations/Year3.0
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.75
Weight Score2.88
Normalized Score0.67
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