More Purpose in Life and Less Novelty Seeking Predict Improvements in Self-Compassion During a Mindfulness-Based Intervention: The EXMIND Study

Mari Akase; Takeshi Terao; Nobuko Kawano; Akari Sakai; Koji Hatano; Masanao Shirahama; Hirofumi Hirakawa; Kentaro Kohno; Nobuyoshi Ishii

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00252

More Purpose in Life and Less Novelty Seeking Predict Improvements in Self-Compassion During a Mindfulness-Based Intervention: The EXMIND Study

Front Psychiatry. 2020 Apr 3:11:252. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00252. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Mari Akase¹, Takeshi Terao¹, Nobuko Kawano^{1

2}, Akari Sakai¹, Koji Hatano¹, Masanao Shirahama¹, Hirofumi Hirakawa¹, Kentaro Kohno¹, Nobuyoshi Ishii¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, Yufu, Japan.
² Department of Psychology, Faculty of Welfare and Health Sciences, Oita University, Oita, Japan.

Abstract

Objectives: Recently, a 4-week mindfulness-based intervention followed by a 4-week existential approach was found to be as effective for increasing self-compassion as an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention. The purpose of the present study was to identify the factors that predicted change in self-compassion during the 8-week mindfulness-based intervention.

Methods: Fifty-seven of the 61 completers of the 8-week mindfulness-based intervention provided baseline, 4-week, and 8-week self-compassion scale scores. The mean age of the 47 females and 10 males was 49.6 years. Pearson's correlation coefficients were generated on the associations between the change of total self-compassion scale scores from baseline to 8 weeks with age; gender; and the baseline scores on the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa and San Diego Auto-questionnaire, Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Mini-Mental State Examination, Japanese Adult Reading Test, Young Mania Rating Scale, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Parental Bonding Instrument, and purpose in life (PIL). Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the predictors of the change in total self-compassion scale scores.

Results: Novelty seeking (TCI) was significantly and negatively associated with the change in total self-compassion scale scores, whereas the PIL scores were significantly and positively associated with the change in total self-compassion scale scores. Novelty seeking was not significantly associated with baseline, 4-week, or 8-week total self-compassion scale scores, whereas the PIL scores were significantly and positively associated with baseline, 4-week, and 8-week total self-compassion scale scores. The limitation of the present study was a relatively small number of subjects which deterred a more sophisticated analysis of the pathways involved.

Conclusions: The present findings suggest that more PIL and less novelty seeking predict improvements in self-compassion during mindfulness-based interventions, although novelty seeking might substantially predict the improvement but self-compassion scale and PIL might somewhat conceptually overlap.

Keywords: mindfulness; novelty seeking; psychotherapy; purpose in life; self-compassion.