Processing of a sad memory in individuals with a history of depression
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Processing of a sad memory in individuals with a history of depression
IRAS ID
169108
Contact name
Hans Kirschner
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research & Knowledge Transfer/ University of Exeter
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
Understanding processes and mechanisms that prevent mental health problems, such as depression, and facilitate wellbeing is of great importance. This is particularly true as mental health problems are highly prevalent in the general
population and are associated with negative consequences for an individuals' social life and wellbeing as well as for society and the economy. Recent research has pointed out that the cultivation of self-compassion may be one of these protective mechanisms.
Self-compassion (SC) is defined as being kind to and caring for oneself in times of adversity and holding painful thoughts and feelings in balanced awareness. The cultivation of SC during mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has been identified as one key process that prevents relapse in recurrent depression. Evidence is increasing that experimentally induced SC in healthy individuals leads to increased compassion for self and others, reduced physiological arousal and increased positive self-referential processing. One understudied aspect is the activation and maintenance of SC in the presence of a negative event. Previous research in experienced meditators doing compassion meditation during negative picture processing suggests that physiological activations to adverse stimuli are not suppressed but are positively correlated with compassion-ratings. This suggests that the cultivation of SC may increase the tolerance of negative emotions and increase compassion at the same time. A current gap in the literature is to examine whether individuals with a history of depression who underwent MBCT show a similarly improved tolerance of negative emotions, increased self-compassion and reduced self-criticism. This project has two aims: (1) To investigate if depressive individuals who received MBCT show (a) stronger processing depth as indicator of better tolerance when exposed to the negative mood induction and (b) repair their mood after a negative mood induction by activating higher levels of self- compassion and positive self-perception to a SC induction tape than individuals who have no MBCT experiences. (2) To explore in depth how individuals use SC during the mood induction and during the SC-based mood repair condition.REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/SW/1172
Date of REC Opinion
6 Feb 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion