(PS8-5) Be Kind to Yourself: Exploring the Impact of Self-compassion on Individual and Relationship Health Among Communities with Low Income

Promoting self-compassion (SC) has been shown to decrease depression, anxiety, and stress as well as increase relationship satisfaction. Due to the benefits and scalability of SC, it may be a useful skill for communities experiencing greater psychosocial stressors, such as communities with low income. Given the established link between mindfulness training and SC, leveraging existing mindfulness interventions for communities with low income may be particularly strategic. Brief interventions also hold promise for widening access to care, and previous research has demonstrated that couples with low income who participated in a brief mindfulness intervention improved on individual and relationship health through two months postintervention. However, it is unclear whether SC can also improve after brief mindfulness training and how this change may impact individual and relationship health outcomes for individuals with low income. The present study sought to examine (1) how SC relates to individual and relationship health at baseline, (2) whether SC changed in response to a brief, couple-based mindfulness intervention SC and (3) how this change predicted individual and relationship health among couples with low income relative to couples with higher income. 

Data were collected from 39 couples, with couples with low income overrepresented. Couples were recruited from federally qualified health centers in East Tennessee that primarily serve individuals with low income. The intervention was delivered to couples in the setting of their choosing to increase access and entailed two, 90-minute sessions, that provided psychoeducation about stress, mindfulness and communication skills training. Data were collected from both partners on SC, relationship satisfaction, depression, anxiety, and stress at baseline and 1- and 2 months postintervention. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. When examining change, we computed change scores from baseline to 1 month and 1 month to 2 months postintervention. Results revealed that, at baseline, higher SC predicted less depression, stress, and greater relationship satisfaction for individuals with low income and less stress for individuals with higher income. Secondly, SC significantly improved at a similar rate for individuals with higher and low income from baseline to 1 month postintervention and remained stable from 1 to 2 months postintervention for all couples. Changes in SC from baseline to 1 month and 1 month to 2 months postintervention were associated with changes in depression for individuals with higher income but not individuals with low income. Changes in SC from 1 to 2 months postintervention were also associated with changes in relationship satisfaction for individuals with higher income but not individuals with low income. Changes in SC were not associated with changes in stress or anxiety at any time point. Taken together, SC can improve in response to a brief mindfulness intervention. Interestingly, although SC appears to be relevant to baseline indicators of individual and relationship health for individuals with low income, changes in SC may not contribute to change in individual or relationship health outcomes for individuals with low income.