Over the last decade, empirical research on compassion has burgeoned in the biomedical, clinical, translational, and foundational sciences. Increasingly sophisticated understandings and measures of compassion continue to emerge from the abundance of multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary studies. Naturally, the diversity of research methods and theoretical frameworks employed presents a significant challenge to consensus and synthesis of this knowledge. To bring the empirical findings of separate and sometimes siloed disciplines into conversation with one another requires an examination of their disparate assumptions about what compassion is and how it can be known. Here, we present an integrated theoretical review of methodologies used in the empirical study of compassion. Our goal is to highlight the distinguishing features of each of these ways of knowing compassion, as well as the strengths and limitations of applying them to specific research questions. We hope this will provide useful tools for selecting methods that are tailored to explicit objectives (methods matching), taking advantage of methodological complementarity across disciplines (methods mixing), and incorporating the empirical study of compassion into fields in which it may be missing.
Objectives
This paper describes the emergence of the scientific study of mindfulness in schools; summarizes findings of experimental research on the impacts of school-based mindfulness programs (SBMPs) on student outcomes in prekindergarten, primary, and secondary school settings (ages 4–18 years); discusses scientific limitations and wider critiques of this work; and offers suggestions for future research.
Methods
Public data are used to describe the emergence of science on SBMPs, the foci of this research, and the academic disciplines contributing to it. A narrative summary of scientific findings regarding the impacts of SBMPs on students, and critiques of this work, is also presented.
Results
Research is increasing and is primarily psychological and prevention-oriented. Evidence shows SBMPs can enhance students’ self-regulation abilities, but SBMPs’ impacts on other student outcomes at different ages are equivocal. The current research has significant limitations, and these, alongside wider critiques of the work, suggest important directions for research.
Conclusions
In the next generation of science, we suggest (a) improving the experimental research; (b) expanding developmental research; and (c) re-envisioning assumptions, theories, and methods in research to go “beyond all splits” towards a non-dualistic and relationally, culturally, contextually, ethically, and developmentally grounded science on mindfulness and compassion for students in schools.
Objectives The association of stress with pregnancy health is well-known. However, few studies take a mixed methods approach to understand the stressors contributing to a woman's pregnancy-related stress. Among African American women, exposure to stressors during pregnancy likely contributes to disparities in pregnancy health outcomes. This work aimed to understand the types and magnitude of stressors African American women are exposed to during pregnancy. Methods Using a mixed methods research design, we developed and administered the Healthy Pregnancy Stress Scale to measure stressors within the stress environment of African American women living in poverty. Results Exploratory factor analysis with one random split-half sample (N = 85) identified a two-factor model. Factor 1, defined as general pregnancy stressors, had significant loadings for ten items that ranged in magnitude from 0.319 to 0.724. Factor 2, defined as relationship strain, had significant loadings for three items ranging in magnitude from 0.613 to 0.856. Confirmatory factor analysis in the second random split-half sample (N = 88) showed a strong fit for the two factor model with factor loadings similar in magnitude. Standard fit statistics and those that adjust for item non-normality suggested an adequate fit to the data (RMSEA = 0.057, CFI = 0.947, TLI = 0.932; Satorra-Bentler RMSEA = 0.037, CFI = 0.972, TLI = 0.965). Conclusions for Practice Our measurement tool may provide a way to determine differences in pregnancy stress experiences across diverse populations of women. Future research should include a test for construct validity by correlating the scale with other measures that should have a specific directional relationship in diverse populations.
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