Vich, M., Lukeš, M., & Burian, J. (2020). Out of sight, out of mind? Exploring the long-term effects of Relational Mindfulness Training (RMT). Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 16, 162-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.04.001
Recent studies showed mixed findings regarding the sustainability of the effects of mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation interventions. This study, conducted on a sample of 128 management students divided into treatment and control groups, is the first that examines the long-term effects of the training in relational mindfulness. We focus on Relational Mindfulness Training (RMT), an 8-week intervention designed to help participants to be more present, aware, and kind towards themselves and others during social interactions. The results show a significant long-term impact of RMT on self-compassion, perceived stress and mindfulness. The impact of RMT on compassion and subjective happiness was significant in the short run, but only marginally significant in the long run for compassion and non-significant for subjective happiness. Furthermore, individuals who maintained an individual practice in the follow-up period showed notably better results concerning all examined effects, except compassion. The results suggest that the development of compassion is more dependent on the context of a training group. We provide recommendations for future interventions in order that they can make a more sustainable impact on compassion.
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