The Effectiveness and Acceptability of Formal Versus Informal Mindful Self-Compassion for Adolescents
Formal Versus Informal Mindful Self-Compassion Programming for Adolescents
Cambridge Health Alliance
135 participants
Apr 13, 2026
INTERVENTIONAL
Conditions
Summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if two types of mindful self-compassion programs work to improve coping in adolescents. The investigators will also learn about adolescents' liking of, and the other potential mental health and academic benefits of, these programs. The main questions this clinical trial aims to answer are: * Do two types of mindful self-compassion programs improve coping in adolescents? * Do two types of mindful self-compassion programs improve mental health (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression) and academic outcomes (e.g., academic engagement) in adolescents? * How satisfactory are two types of mindful self-compassion programs for adolescents? To do this, the investigators will compare adolescents who complete two types of mindful self-compassion programs to adolescents in a "waitlist control" condition (who complete no study tasks during the program period, but will have the opportunity to complete the program at the end of the study). Participants will: * Complete a brief phone interview to confirm their eligibility (15 min) * Complete an online survey including questions about coping, mental health, and academic engagement (30 min) * Complete a live, online, four-week-long mindful self-compassion program OR no study tasks during this four-week period (if randomly assigned to a waitlist condition) * Complete an online survey 1 week after the 4-week period, including questions about coping, mental health, and academic engagement, as well as their liking of the program they completed (if applicable) * Complete an online survey 1 month after the 4-week period, including questions about coping, mental health, and academic engagement * (Waitlist condition only) Have the opportunity to complete one of the two mindful self-compassion programs after the study had ended
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria5
- Be 14-19 years of age for the duration of the study;
- If 14-17 years of age: have a parent with sufficient literacy skills to understand the consent process and have the ability to provide written informed consent, and have sufficient English fluency and literacy skills themselves to understand the assent process, procedures, and questionnaires and have the ability to provide written assent;
- If 18-19 years of age: have sufficient English fluency and literacy skills themselves to understand the consent process, procedures, and questionnaires and have the ability to provide written informed consent;
- Have access to the internet and an electronic device with adequate data capacity to complete questionnaires online and attend online videoconference groups;
- Be available and willing to attend the scheduled online videoconference groups for 4 weeks and complete the online assessments.
Exclusion Criteria9
- Current or past-year treatment with mindfulness-based psychotherapy (e.g., MBCT, DBT, or ACT);
- Current or past-year participation in a mindfulness- or compassion-based program;
- A routine of, on average, 10 minutes of mindfulness practice per day over the past 30 days (greater than or equal to 300 minutes);
- Simultaneous participation in another experimental research study;
- Current or past-year diagnosis of: schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorder, bipolar 1 disorder, or severe substance/alcohol use disorder;
- Current or past-month suicidal ideation;
- Hospitalization for reasons related to mental health within the past 6 months;
- Recent modifications to psychiatric medication(s) (within the last 30 days or within the last 90 days for antidepressants (e.g., SSRI, SNRI, etc.);
- Inability to complete consent/assent process or baseline assessment.
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Interventions
The MSC-F and MSC-I programs will be adaptations of the Mindful Self-Compassion - Teen (MSC-T) program (formerly Making Friends With Yourself; Bluth et al., 2016). MSC-T includes the instruction of both formal and informal practices; the adapted programs will thus disentangle the two approaches to allow for their direct comparison. The adapted MSC-F and MSC-I programs will comprise weekly hour-long virtual group sessions held over four weeks and led in real time by IRB-approved CHA researchers and clinicians. Each session will include (i) psychoeducation related to stress, mindfulness, self-compassion, and healthy/unhealthy coping, (ii) in-session mindfulness practice, and (iii) group discussion. Content will be identical across the MSC-F and MSC-I programs aside from the specific practices taught (i.e., whether exclusively formal or informal). Weekly home practice will be assigned and supporting handouts and audio files (where applicable) will be shared following each session.
The MSC-F and MSC-I programs will be adaptations of the Mindful Self-Compassion - Teen (MSC-T) program (formerly Making Friends With Yourself; Bluth et al., 2016). MSC-T includes the instruction of both formal and informal practices; the adapted programs will thus disentangle the two approaches to allow for their direct comparison. The adapted MSC-F and MSC-I programs will comprise weekly hour-long virtual group sessions held over four weeks and led in real time by IRB-approved CHA researchers and clinicians. Each session will include (i) psychoeducation related to stress, mindfulness, self-compassion, and healthy/unhealthy coping, (ii) in-session mindfulness practice, and (iii) group discussion. Content will be identical across the MSC-F and MSC-I programs aside from the specific practices taught (i.e., whether exclusively formal or informal). Weekly home practice will be assigned and supporting handouts and audio files (where applicable) will be shared following each session.
Locations(1)
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NCT07513220