CM-OA-012 · Q004 · Checked 2 October 2026 · Preliminary AI-assisted review
Interpretation: this comparison supplies a relevant null result. It tests different outcomes and a different population from the depression trial, so it is not a direct replication.
| Design | Four-week loving-kindness versus progressive muscle relaxation; 75 enrolled, 69 final sample. Healthy US adults. |
|---|---|
| Pain result | No loving-kindness advantage over relaxation. Results report a pooled time effect on tolerance (+8.46 seconds, p=.037), despite abstract wording of no improvement. This does not establish either treatment’s specific efficacy. |
| Social support | Reported comparison favoured relaxation (p=.028). Multiplicity needs checking against alpha=.0125 in the power discussion. |
| Limitations | Pandemic setting; remote wall-sit task; incomplete follow-up; no passive control. Null results do not establish equivalence. |
| Registration | NCT04632875; OSF preregistration dated after recruitment began. Full registry comparison pending. |
| Data and rights | Article: CC BY 4.0. OSF hz3nv inaccessible (403); dataset licence unverified. |
Young and colleagues, PLOS One, 16 September 2026 · OSF project
No canonical BQ status or accepted evidence changed. Next: reconcile abstract/results, preregistration, missing-data denominators and uncertainty intervals. Compassion and positive emotion require their own measures.