1. Kindness interventions for early-stage breast cancer survivors: An online, pilot randomized controlled trial
- Author
-
Haydon, Marcie D, Walsh, Lisa C, Fritz, Megan M, Rahal, Danny, Lyubomirsky, Sonja, and Bower, Julienne E
- Subjects
Clinical Trials and Supportive Activities ,Cancer ,Mental Health ,Clinical Research ,Breast Cancer ,Rehabilitation ,Prevention ,Behavioral and Social Science ,Early-stage breast cancer ,randomized controlled trial ,prosocial behavior ,acts of kindness ,self-kindness ,self-kindness meditation ,Business and Management ,Psychology ,Linguistics ,Social Psychology - Abstract
Online interventions that elicit kindness may enhance well-being. We tested the efficacy of three kindness interventions among breast cancer survivors. Participants (N = 137, M age = 62.65 years) were randomized to perform acts of kindness for others, acts of kindness for self, self-kindness meditation, or a daily-activities-writing control and completed three activities each week for 4 weeks. Primary (well-being, depressive symptoms) and secondary outcomes (social support, self-kindness) were assessed pre- and post-intervention. No differences emerged in the primary outcomes. However, relative to controls, participants in the acts of kindness to others condition reported greater increases in social support, and participants in the self-kindness meditation condition reported greater decreases in self-kindness. Among breast cancer survivors, performing prosocial acts may enhance feelings of social support. The two self-kindness conditions yielded either null or detrimental effects, suggesting that further research is needed on best practices for conducting self-focused kindness interventions. more...
- Published
- 2023