The Effects of the “Mindful Kindness” Intervention on Satisfaction with Life and Mental Health of Adults in Custody

October, 2023

Ted McCuddy, Christopher M. Loan, Bonnie Grossen, & Doug Carnine

Background: The high rate of recidivism within the United States demonstrates that rehabilitation, one of the goals of incarceration, has largely failed. Conditions within carceral settings increase stress and diminish satisfaction with life, two factors linked with offending.  Although mindfulness programs and kindness interventions have been shown to improve certain dimensions of mental health, less is known about their impact on satisfaction with life and how this compares to other positive and negative indicators of mental health.  

Aims: To test the impact of the “Mindful Kindness Program—How Love Wins” (MKP) on incarcerated individuals’ mental ill-being, propensity for positive action, desire for relationships, anti-social tendencies, and knowledge of mindfulness techniques.  

Methods: Data were collected from 234 prisoners from 34 correctional institutions in California who completed How Love Wins workbook over a 28-week period. Confirmatory factor analyses are used to identify dimensions of mental health and the use of mindfulness techniques. A structural equation model was fitted to the data to assess differences in these constructs from pre-test to post-test. 

Results: After completing MKP, participants reported higher satisfaction with life, higher positive indicators of mental health, and lower negative indicators of mental health.  

Conclusion: MKP has the potential to improve mental health conditions of those who are incarcerated, while simultaneously targeting factors linked with crime, such as satisfaction with life. Future work should aim to identify mechanisms of action linking mindfulness and satisfaction with life to identify areas for intervention. These are highlights of the results. Details of the analysis and further findings can be found using the link: Effects_MKP_onSWL_andStress_11.11.23.pdf