Effectiveness of a 2-week online program on self-help loving-kindness meditation in a non-clinical population: An active control randomized trial

Objective: Loving-kindness meditation has been shown to improve positive and negative mental health outcomes; however, its effectiveness, when provided in a self-help format, has not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, this study examined the effectiveness of a 2-week online program on self-help loving-kindness meditation by comparing it with mindfulness meditation and active control (breathing exercises). Methods: A total of 130 participants were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions and engaged in the corresponding practice for 2 weeks. Outcome measures included stress symptoms, self-compassion, social approach motivation, social avoidance motivation, social connectedness, and positive and negative emotions. Results: Significant improvements were witnessed in stress symptoms, self-compassion, social approach motivation, social connectedness, and negative emotion; however, no group differences were observed from the pre- to post-treatment sessions. Daily diary assessment indicated that loving-kindness meditation is associated with higher levels of daily positive emotion compared with the other conditions. Conclusions: The self-help form of loving-kindness meditation can enhance mental health outcomes; however, improvements might be explained merely by the relaxation effects and expectations regarding treatment. Loving-kindness meditation would be more effective when guided by experienced facilitators.