Study Smeets et al. (2014): study NL 2011

Public

Female psychology students, Netherlands, 2011

Survey name

Unnamed study

Sample

Respondents

N = 49

Non Response

Assessment

Questionnaire: Conputer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI)

Correlate

Authors's Label

Self-compassion intervention

Our Classification

Remarks

In both interventions all sessions were co-led by two trainers. Each session started with a short presentation, followed by experiential exercises and discussion periods. All participants received an intervention booklet comprising the following information: (a) an overview of the information that was presented during the sessions, (b) a schedule summarizing the tasks for the upcoming week, and (c) a series of homework assignments. Both interventions were matched in terms of workload.

Distribution

1: N = 27, 0: N = 22

Operationalization

Participants were randomly assigned to:
1. SELF COMPASSION INTERVENTION.
Week 1 session focused on teaching participants to notice their own suffering and introduced a number of informal self-compassion techniques. Homework:
(a) participants had to switch their "intervention bracelet" from one arm to the other every time they addressed themselves in a harsh way or felt upset about something.
(b) participants had to keep a weeklong self-compassion journal that contained instructions on how to reprocess difficult experiences with a sense of kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness.
(c) participants had to practice with an informal form of loving-kindness meditation. Participants were instructed to silently repeat three loving-kindness phrases, directed at others and themselves, every night before going to bed .
Week 2 session focused on teaching participants to be more self-compassionate when confronting difficulties in daily life. Homework:
(a) participants were told to use their self-compassion phrases as often as possible when encountering difficulties or disappointments in daily life.
(b) participants had to write a self-compassionate letter about an issue they tend to feel bad about.
(c) participants were asked to continue with their informal loving-kindness practice every night before going to bed. In week 3 session participants shared experiences on their previous week and evaluated the intervention.
0: CONTROL = TIME MANAGEMENT.
Week 1 session focused on teaching participants to become aware of the way they manage their time. Homework:
(a) Participants were told to write down all of their daily activities, along with a time estimation and a time efficiency percentage, every evening of the upcoming week.
(b) hey had to eval-uate their time management satisfaction and reflect on potential reasons for their effectiveness and ineffectiveness.
(c) they were asked to compare their time efficiency percentages across days.
Week 2 session  focused on helping participants to plan their time more efficiently. Homework assignments for week two were the same as for week one. This time participants had to evaluate the time efficiency of their planned activities.
In week 3 session participants shared experiences on their previous week and evaluated the intervention

Observed Relation with Happiness