Despite the widespread popularity of mindfulness meditation for its various benefits, the mechanism underlying the meditation process has rarely been explored. Here, we present two preliminary studies designed to test alternative hypotheses: whether the effect of brief guided mindfulness meditation on empathic concern arises from verbal suggestion (suggestion hypothesis) or as a byproduct of an induced mindfulness state (mindfulness hypothesis). Study 1 was a pilot randomized control trial of sitting (breath-and-body) meditation vs. compassion meditation that provided preliminary support for the mindfulness hypothesis. Study 2 was set up to rule out the possibility that the meditation effects observed in Study 1 were the effects of repeated measures. An inactive control group of participants underwent the repeated measures of empathic concern with no meditation in between. The pre-post comparison demonstrated no significant changes in the measures. Thus, the results of two studies supported the mindfulness hypothesis. Limitations of the present study and future research directions are discussed.

An interdependence approach to empathic concern could transform the current societal environment for people with disability into a more accessible and equitable one. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate two possible factors influencing empathic concern, gender and ethnic culture, in specific helping scenarios. We first examined whether the female gender and collectivist culture of Japan were associated with higher levels of interdependence and empathic concern for disability than were the male gender and individualist culture of New Zealand. Empathic concern for people with impairment was assessed in accessible and inaccessible environments. Neither gender nor culture significantly influenced the level of interdependence, whereas gender and culture differentially moderated empathic concern. We also explored the possibility of altering self-construal and thus promoting prosocial behaviour by examining the correlation between self-construal and prosocial intention, and the effect of cultural priming on self-construal. The correlation was significant under inaccessible conditions in the Japanese sample, and the effect of interdependent priming was not significant on interdependent self-construal in both countries. Discussion centres on theoretical implications of the observed conditional support for the female-gender and collectivist-culture hypotheses, and on ways to promote prosocial behaviour, taking into account gender and cultural differences.

Purpose In New Zealand, prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and the third most common cause of male cancer deaths. Among these patients, the most common non-cancer related cause of death is cardiovascular disease (CVD). Aortic arterial stiffness may be clinically viable solution for detecting and tracking CVD risk factor in PCa survivors. The aim of the study was to determine whether aortic arterial stiffness is increased in PCa survivors compared to age-matched controls. Methods Participants recruited for this prospective comparative study were PCa survivors who had completed treatment (other than endocrine therapy) or were on active surveillance compared, or were age-matched non-cancer controls. During a single 1-h appointment, all participants had measures of aortic arterial stiffness, arterial wave reflection, central blood pressure and body composition taken. Results Ninety-eight men were recruited, 51 PCa survivors and 47 controls. There was no significant between group difference for aortic arterial stiffness [12.0 m/s (SD: 1.7) vs. 12.0 m/s (SD: 1.9), P = 0.953, d = 0.0]. Fat free mass [60.7 kg (SD: 4.9) vs. 65.1 kg (SD: 8.3), P = 0.007, d = 0.6] and skeletal muscle index [8.6 kg/m 2 (SD: 0.6) vs. 9.0 kg/m 2 (SD: 0.9), P = 0.050, d = 0.5] were lower in the PCa group. Conclusions Aortic arterial stiffness is not increased (worse) in men with PCa who receive various treatments, compared to age-matched controls. These findings may indicate that factors other than increased aortic arterial stiffness contribute to heightened risk of cardiovascular events in this population.

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