Mindfulness, Compassion and Self-compassion

The University of Hong Kong328 enrolled

Overview

Teachers in Hong Kong are susceptible to professional stress and its associated psychosomatic illnesses. To enhance teachers' well-being, mindfulness training is conducted in local schools. The present study is a randomized controlled trial to explore 1) the relationship between mindfulness, common humanity, self-compassion, compassion, and well-being of school teachers; 2) whether mindfulness and common humanity are the antecedents of self-compassion and compassion; 3) the conditions under which compassion and self-compassion are highly correlated. Participants will be randomized to either intervention (8-week .b Foundations course) or waiting-list control condition. They will complete an online survey before (baseline), after (post-intervention), and two-months (follow-up) after the intervention.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

328

Conditions

Mental Health Issue

Interventions

The .b Foundations course is an 8-week mindfulness program developed by Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) for school teachers and personnel. It includes a taster session and 8 weekly sessions. Each session lasts for 1.5 hours with a specific theme (e.g. Lesson 1 waking up from autopilot). Formal and informal mindfulness practices (e.g. mindful eating, body scan, mindful walking, habit releaser etc.), psychoeducation, cognitive exercises, inquiry, and home practice are involved.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 18 years old or above * Working in local schools or education institutions * Willing to participate in mindfulness training voluntarily Exclusion Criteria: * Experiencing severe or unstable mental health condition currently * Completed 8-week mindfulness training previously * Unwilling to go by random assignment

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in General Health

General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), 12 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always)