Efficacy of a single session mindfulness based intervention: A randomized clinical trial.
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
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
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.