Premium
Randomized controlled trial of a brief online self‐compassion intervention for mothers of infants: Effects on mental health outcomes
Author(s) -
Lennard Georgina R.,
Mitchell Amy E.,
Whittingham Koa
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.23068
Subject(s) - self compassion , randomized controlled trial , psychological intervention , mental health , anxiety , psychology , clinical psychology , intervention (counseling) , depression (economics) , medicine , mindfulness , psychiatry , surgery , economics , macroeconomics
Abstract Objective To test the effectiveness of a brief self‐compassion intervention in improving mental health outcomes for mothers of infants. Method A randomized controlled trial study design was used. A community sample of mothers of infants (<2 years) completed measures of self‐compassion, fears of compassion, psychological flexibility, depression, anxiety, stress, symptoms of posttraumatic stress, and infant feeding experiences. Mothers randomized to intervention received access to online self‐compassion resources, and 248 mothers (intervention n = 94, waitlist‐control n = 154) completed postintervention assessment 8 weeks later. Results Overall, 62.8% ( n = 59) of intervention participants accessed the resources per‐protocol, and lower fear of compassion scores predicted resource use. At postintervention, mothers who used the resources had improved scores for posttraumatic stress symptoms (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.31–5.47, p = .028), depression (95% CI = 0.15–2.01, p = .023), self‐compassionate action (95% CI = 0.41–3.45, p = .012), and engagement with compassion from others (95% CI = 0.22–5.49, p = .034) compared to waitlist‐control. Fears of compassion moderated intervention effectiveness. There were no effects on other outcome variables. Conclusions Findings support the potential effectiveness of interventions based on compassion‐focused therapy to improve maternal mental health.