Does Loving-Kindness Meditation Reduce Anxiety? Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial

• Published in: Mindfulness Vol. 8; no. 3; pp. 565 - 571
• Main Authors: Weibel, David T., McClintock, Andrew S., Anderson, Timothy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-06-2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anxiety; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Cognitive Psychology; College students; Intervention; Meditation; Mindfulness; Original Paper; Pediatrics; Psychology; Public Health; Self compassion; Social Sciences; Social workers; Self-kindness; Anxiety; Meditation; Self-compassion; Compassionate love; Loving-kindness
• ISSN: 1868-8527; 1868-8535
• DOI: 10.1007/s12671-016-0630-9

Although loving-kindness meditation (LKM) has shown some promise as a psychological intervention, little is known about the effectiveness of LKM for reducing one of the most prevalent mental health problems: anxiety. To build knowledge in this area, we conducted a randomized controlled trial, assigning non-clinical undergraduates to either a four-session, group-based LKM intervention (
n =
 38) or a waitlist control (
n
 = 33). Self-reported anxiety, compassionate love, and self-compassion were assessed at pretreatment, posttreatment, and 8-week follow-up. Relative to control participants, participants in the LKM intervention reported higher compassionate love and self-compassion at posttreatment and higher self-kindness (a component of self-compassion) at follow-up. Anxiety ratings did not significantly differ between conditions at posttreatment or follow-up. Study limitations and directions for future research are discussed.