Enhancing Self-Compassion: An Empirical Comparison of Expressive Writing and Meditation
Major
Psychology
Submission Type
Poster
Area of Study or Work
Psychology
Faculty Advisor
Marie Nebel-Schwalm
Location
CNS Atrium
Start Date
4-13-2024 11:15 AM
End Date
4-13-2024 12:30 PM
Abstract
The current study investigates the comparative effectiveness of expressive writing and meditation in enhancing self-compassion among young adults. Self-compassion entails qualities such as of treating oneself with the same kindness and support one would offer a friend when facing moments of suffering or pain and has been shown to reduce stress among young adults (Ferrari et al., 2019). Participants were recruited to a study about stress reduction and randomly assigned to one of three conditions (i.e., expressive writing, meditation, or placebo control). Expressive writing prompts and meditations each featured the three components of self-compassion (common humanity, mindfulness, and self-kindness). The placebo control group received activities, such as coloring and origami materials. The study is on-going and preliminary results will be provided that compare whether differences in levels of self-compassion exist among participants in the three conditions. This study provides the first known direct comparison between expressive writing and meditation interventions to enhance self-compassion. We expect to find that the expressive writing condition will show greater levels of self-compassion relative to the meditation and control conditions. Results will contribute to the understanding of scalable interventions with empirical support that may foster self-compassion among college students.
Enhancing Self-Compassion: An Empirical Comparison of Expressive Writing and Meditation
CNS Atrium
The current study investigates the comparative effectiveness of expressive writing and meditation in enhancing self-compassion among young adults. Self-compassion entails qualities such as of treating oneself with the same kindness and support one would offer a friend when facing moments of suffering or pain and has been shown to reduce stress among young adults (Ferrari et al., 2019). Participants were recruited to a study about stress reduction and randomly assigned to one of three conditions (i.e., expressive writing, meditation, or placebo control). Expressive writing prompts and meditations each featured the three components of self-compassion (common humanity, mindfulness, and self-kindness). The placebo control group received activities, such as coloring and origami materials. The study is on-going and preliminary results will be provided that compare whether differences in levels of self-compassion exist among participants in the three conditions. This study provides the first known direct comparison between expressive writing and meditation interventions to enhance self-compassion. We expect to find that the expressive writing condition will show greater levels of self-compassion relative to the meditation and control conditions. Results will contribute to the understanding of scalable interventions with empirical support that may foster self-compassion among college students.