Neff, K. D., & Germer, C. K. (2013)
Why you're reading this
The RCT of the very program whose arc this course follows. Also your training ground for reading any clinical trial: what the control condition does and doesn't buy.
How to read it (the roadmap)
Pilot first (feasibility), then the RCT. Read the design paragraph twice; read the outcomes table for direction and maintenance; read the limitations section like it's the best part, because it is.
Extract these — exam and discussion fuel
- Random assignment to MSC vs. WAITLIST — and what a waitlist rules out (time, retesting, regression)
- What it does NOT rule out (expectancy, attention, group belonging)
- Gains in self-compassion, mindfulness, wellbeing; reductions in depression/anxiety/stress
- Maintenance at 6 months and 1 year
- Sample characteristics: who volunteers for an 8-week compassion course?
Traps
Note the publication year is 2013 though we shorthand it '2012' from its online-first date — cite the journal year (2013) in APA references. And don't let 'randomized' switch off your critique: the control condition is where the argument lives.
Questions to bring to class
- Design the ideal control condition for a training you KNOW you're receiving. Is it possible?
- Which of this trial's limitations does YOUR semester project share? (All of them — but say why, per limitation.)
General permission that applies to every paper: you are allowed to skim the statistics you haven't learned yet. Extract the design and the direction of findings; let the Greek letters wash over you. The exam tests design logic and findings, never decimals.