Loving Kindness Meditation Among Adults 50 Years and Older

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the feasibility and acceptability of loving-kindness meditation among adults 50 years and older. It will also examine the benefits of this intervention and compare the outcomes between two groups (intervention and wait-list control).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Loneliness
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Loving-kindness Meditation

Detailed Description

The main aim of the research is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the Loving-kindness meditation intervention among adults 50 years or older. It will also examine the intervention's preliminary impact on loneliness, self-compassion, cognitive function, and psychological well-being. The study will use a randomized controlled trial with waitlist control.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 59
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Nevada
    • Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, 89154
      • University of Nevada Las Vegas

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 50 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults 50 years or older living in Southern Nevada

Exclusion Criteria:

• Cognitive or language barrier that would make it difficult to understand and sign the informed consent

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Waitlist control; The arm will eventually get the intervention.
Experimental: Loving kindness meditation; Loving-kindness meditation is a contemplative practice that focuses on developing compassion for oneself and others through mindfulness. Participants will be shown the recorded loving-kindness training video during the first week of the intervention. Participants will be encouraged to use the mp3 device with guided meditation recording to practice mindfulness meditation for 20-25 minutes every day for 30 days. We will also provide participants with a diary to record their daily meditation experiences. There will be weekly check in. At 60 days we will do a follow-up data collection.	Behavioral: Loving-kindness Meditation; Loving-kindness meditation is a type of mindfulness practice where the focus is on love/compassion and kindness for self and others. The guided meditation will be provided via recording device. The intervention is 4 week long.; Other Names: mindfulness practice

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Loneliness	A 3-item modified UCLA loneliness scale will be used to measure loneliness. The scores on this scale range from 3 to 9, the highest scores indicative of a higher level of loneliness. We will measure loneliness at baseline, post-intervention and 2 follow-up periods to measure the change in loneliness level because of the loving-kindness meditation intervention.	baseline, immediately post-intervention, and week 4 and week 8 post intervention (follow-up periods).
Change in Self-compassion	A 12-item Self-compassion Short form Scale by Kirsten Neff will be used to measure self-compassion. The scores on this scale rages from 1-5. The highest scores are indicative of better self-compassion. We will measure self-compassion at baseline and post-intervention periods to measure the change in self-compassion because of the loving-kindness meditation intervention.	baseline, immediately post-intervention, and week 4 and week 8 post intervention.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Anxiety	A 4-item PROMIS Emotional Distress: Anxiety Scale will be used to measure anxiety. The scores on this scale range from 4 to 20, the highest scores indicative of a higher feeling of anxiety. We will measure anxiety at baseline and post-intervention periods to measure the change in anxiety level because of the loving-kindness meditation intervention.	baseline, immediately post-intervention, and week 4 and week 8 post intervention.
Change in Depressive Symptoms	A 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale will be used to measure depressive symptoms. The scores on this scale range from 10 to 40, the highest scores indicative of a higher feeling of depression. We will measure depressive symptoms at baseline and post-intervention periods to measure the change in depressive symptoms because of the loving-kindness meditation intervention.	baseline, immediately post-intervention, and week 4 and week 8 post intervention.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Nirmala Lekhak, PhD, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 2, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 30, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): October 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 8, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 27, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): April 28, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 4, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 3, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: UNLV-2022-148

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No