Self-Compassionate Writing for Caregivers of Older Adults

Online Intervention Using Self-Compassionate Writing to Induce Positive Mood in Family Caregivers of Older Adults

The goal of this study was to test an online writing intervention to encourage a self-compassionate mindset in family caregivers of older adults. The main aims were to answer the questions:

• Writing with self-compassion would increase self-compassion.
• Writing with self-compassion would improve mood. Researchers compared self-compassion components (self-kindness, which involves a gentle and non-judgemental approach to oneself at times of difficulty; common humanity, which includes recognising one's difficulties as part of a shared human experience; mindfulness, which includes noticing difficult feelings without becoming overwhelmed by them) to see which combinations achieved the best outcomes.

Participants wrote with different combinations of self-compassion components together, such as mindfulness and common humanity or mindfulness and self-kindness. Participants also wrote with self-kindness, common humanity, or mindfulness separately.

After being informed and consenting to participate in the study, participants were allocated to a self-compassion or control condition. The study was designed to target state self-compassion and mood. The research was carried out over three studies, with refinements being made each time based on previous outcomes. In Studies 1 and 2, participants were tested for self-compassion and mood (guilt, sadness, and serenity). after the writing tasks. In Study 3, participants were asked to complete measures for these both before and after the writing tasks. The experiments were carried out online for all three studies.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Family carer.
• Caring for a person over 65 years of age.
• Participants over 18 years of age.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Professional carers.
• Caring person under 65 years of age.
• Participants under 18 years of age.