Meditation, Compassionate Love, and Mental Health in Later Life.

Purpose: Understanding of the mechanisms by which meditation imparts beneficial effects on later-life mental health is limited. The current study assessed the role of compassionate love in mediating the relationship between meditation and mental health in later life.

Method: Using data from a nationwide web-based survey ( = 1,861), we examined the indirect effects of meditation on depressive symptoms and anxiety via compassionate love.

Results: Participants who practiced meditation (compared to those who did not) had significantly higher feelings of being loved ( = 0.11, < 0.05); those who experienced more love had lower depressive symptoms ( = -2.10, < 0.001) and anxiety ( = -0.99, < 0.001). Meditation also had significant indirect effects (via compassionate love) on depressive symptoms ( = -0.23, < 0.05) and anxiety ( = -0.11, < 0.05).

Conclusion: This study underscores the need for contemplative interventions that foster compassionate love to improve mental health in later life. [(3), 40-50.].