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
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;
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;
Parallel
Formal Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC-F)
BehavioralThe 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.
Informal Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC-I)
BehavioralThe 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.
Coping Index (CI)
The Coping Index (CI; Stallman, 2017) is a 20-item self-report measure of healthy (10 items) and unhealthy (10 items) coping behaviors based on the Health Theory of Coping (Stallman, 2020). Respondents rate how often they use each behavior to feel better when they are feeling stressed or distressed using a 4-point Likert scale ranging from I do not do this at all (0) to I do this most of the time (3). The item, 'Have thoughts about suicide', will be omitted for the purposes of this study; an adapted 19-item version of the CI will therefore be used. A coping index score will be computed, which is the healthy subscale mean minus the unhealthy subscale mean (possible range: 3 to -3). A higher score reflects a better outcome.
Coping Index (CI)
The Coping Index (CI; Stallman, 2017) is a 20-item self-report measure of healthy (10 items) and unhealthy (10 items) coping behaviors based on the Health Theory of Coping (Stallman, 2020). Respondents rate how often they use each behavior to feel better when they are feeling stressed or distressed using a 4-point Likert scale ranging from I do not do this at all (0) to I do this most of the time (3). The item, 'Have thoughts about suicide', will be omitted for the purposes of this study; an adapted 19-item version of the CI will therefore be used. A coping index score will be computed, which is the healthy subscale mean minus the unhealthy subscale mean (possible range: 3 to -3). A higher score reflects a better outcome.
18-item Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-18)
The 18-item Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-18; Medvedev et al., 2018) is a self-report measure of dispositional (i.e., trait) mindfulness. It consists of five subscales, each reflecting one facet of mindfulness (acting with awareness, nonjudgmental acceptance, nonreactivity, observing, and describing). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from Never or very rarely true (1) to Very often or always true (5). The FFMQ-18 is the most reliable and valid short form of the full-scale (39-item) FFMQ (Medvedev et al., 2018). A global mean will be computed (possible range: 1 to 5) whereby a higher score reflects a better outcome.
Self-Compassion Scale - Short Form (SCS-SF)
The Self-Compassion Scale - Short Form (SCS-SF; Raes et al., 2011) is a 12-item self-report measure of self-compassion. Respondents are asked to indicate how often they behave in the stated manner using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from Almost never (1) to Almost always (5). The SCS-SF has a near-perfect correlation with the full-scale SCS and is a reliable alternative when assessing overall self-compassion (Raes et al., 2011). A global mean will be computed (possible range: 1 to 5) whereby a higher score reflects a better outcome.
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen et al., 1983) is a 10-item self-report measure of perceived stress. Respondents are asked to rate each item on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = Never to 4 = Very often) based on how often they feel or think a certain away. A sum score will be computed (possible range: 0 to 40) whereby a higher score reflects a worse outcome.
Self-Oriented Perfectionism subscale of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS)
The Self-Oriented Perfectionism subscale of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS; Hewitt \& Flett, 1991, 2004) is a 15-item measure of perfectionism. Respondents are asked to indicate their agreement with each item using a 7-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly disagree (1) to Strongly agree (7). A sum score will be computed (possible range: 15 to 105) whereby a higher score reflects a worse outcome.
Self-Critical Rumination Scale (SCRS)
The Self-Critical Rumination Scale (SCRS; Smart et al., 2016) is a 10-item self-report measure of self-critical rumination. Respondents are asked to indicate how well each item describes them using a 4-point Likert scale ranging from Not at all (1) to Very well (4). A global mean will be computed (possible range: 1 to 4) whereby a higher score reflects a worse outcome.
Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form (DERS-SF)
The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form (DERS-SF; Kaufman et al., 2015) is an 18-item measure of emotion dysregulation. Respondents are asked to indicate how often each statement applies to them using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from Almost never (1) to Almost always (5). A sum score will be computed (possible range: 18 to 90) whereby a higher score reflects a worse outcome.
Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-9S)
The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-9S; Schaufeli et al., 2002) is a 9-item self-report measure of academic engagement. Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from Never (1) to Always/every day (7) based on the frequency with which the respondent experiences each statement. A global mean will be computed (possible range: 1 to 7) whereby a higher score reflects a better outcome.
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