Compassion in action: a microtrial of the effects of a loving-kindness meditation on parent sensitivity and salivary alpha amylase

Abstract

Sensitive parenting early in life sets children up for healthy cognitive, socioemotional, and physical development, and this type of parenting requires both compassion and physiological regulation from the parent. Loving kindness meditations (LKM) increase compassion and reduce physiological responses to stressors, and so may support sensitive parenting. The current study tested the effects of an LKM on parent sensitivity and salivary alpha amylase (sAA) during a parent-child interaction. 136 parents (114 mothers, 22 fathers) of toddlers (18-36 months, M = 28.85, SD = 5.13) participated in an online survey and then were randomly assigned to listen to either an LKM, focused-imagery audio, or podcast during a video call before engaging in a play-based interaction with their toddler. Parent sAA was collected from parents at five points throughout the video call, including before and after the audio and parent-child interaction. LKM did not significantly increase parent sensitivity (B = 0.06, p = 0.86), however, there was limited variability in sensitivity in this sample (M = 6.01, SD = 0.89). The LKM did effect sAA activity (B = -0.66, p < 0.05) such that parents in the LKM demonstrated continually decreasing sympathetic activity throughout the video call, whereas the control groups demonstrated increased sAA levels immediately after the parent-child interaction. Overall, these findings suggest that LKM may be helpful for parents of toddlers in regulating their stress physiology during interactions with their child and supports further research into the role of compassion in parenting behaviors.