Ability to receive compassion from others buffers the depressogenic effect of self-criticism: A cross-cultural multi-study analysis (original) (raw)
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Mindfulness, 2020
Objectives Striving to avoid inferiority, fear of compassion from others, and self-criticism are all factors that have been linked to increased depressive symptoms. However, less is known about the mechanisms of their relationship with depression, and even less about their relationship and potential interaction with each other. This study aimed to investigate the potential moderating role of fear of compassion on the relationship between self-criticism and depression, and insecure striving and depression. Methods A longitudinal survey design with non-probability sampling was employed. Participants were surveyed at two time points (time 1 and time 2) separated by a 2-week interval. Participants completed measures of depressive symptoms, selfcriticism, insecure striving, and fear of compassion from others. The final sample was comprised of 93 individuals aged 19 to 60 years (M = 29.86, SD = 10.87). Results Using prospective data, this study replicated previous cross-sectional findings that high fear of compassion strengthens the relationship between self-criticism and depression. Fear of compassion was also found to be a significant moderator of the relationship between insecure striving at time 1 and depression at time 2, with low fear of compassion strengthening the relationship between insecure striving and depression. Conclusions These findings may have important implications for how we understand and treat depression. They suggest that targeting both an individual's fear of, and ability to effectively communicate needs for, compassion from others may be important in reducing depressive symptoms, particularly in individuals who are high in self-criticism and insecure striving beliefs.
Self-Criticism and Depressive Symptoms: Mediating Role of Self-Compassion
OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying
Self-compassion is gaining recognition as a resilience factor with implications for positive mental health. This study investigated the role of self-compassion in alleviating the effect of self-criticism on depressive symptoms. Participants were 147 urban, low-income African Americans with a recent suicide attempt. They were administered measures of self-criticism, depressive symptoms, and self-compassion. Results from this cross-sectional investigation showed that self-criticism was positively associated with depressive symptoms and negatively associated with self-compassion, and self-compassion was negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Bootstrapping analysis revealed that self-compassion mediated the self-criticism–depressive symptoms link, suggesting that self-compassion ameliorates the negative impact of self-criticism on depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that low-income African Americans with recent suicide attempt histories may benefit from interventions that...
2016
Once thought to only be associated with depression, self-criticism is a transdiagnostic risk factor for diverse forms of psychopathology. (1,2) However, research has shown that self-compassion is a robust resilience factor when faced with feelings of personal inadequacy. (3,4) Self-critical individuals experience feelings of unworthiness, inferiority, failure, and guilt. They engage in constant and harsh selfscrutiny and evaluation, and fear being disapproved and criticized and losing the approval and acceptance of others. (5) Self-compassion involves treating oneself with care and concern when confronted with personal inadequacies, mistakes, failures, and painful life situations. (6,7) Although self-criticism is the aspect of perfectionism most associated with maladjustment, (8) one can be harshly self-critical without being a perfectionist. Most studies of self-criticism have not measured shame; however, this self-conscious emotion has been implicated in diverse forms of psychopat...
Self-criticism, self-compassion, and perceived health: moderating effect of ethnicity
The Journal of General Psychology, 2020
A caring and compassionate attitude toward the self (i.e., selfcompassion) has been linked to various mental and physical health benefits. The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) is widely used in psychology literature in order to assess global selfcompassion. However, recent evidence suggests that the single factor model comprising positive and negative items of the SCS in fact measures two distinct constructs (i.e., self-criticism/self-coldness and self-compassion) with different psychological correlates. Given these recent findings, in addition to other research that highlights cultural differences in self-conceptualizations and self-evaluations, the present study examined potential ethnic differences in the relationships between self-criticism, self-compassion, and perceived health. Participants included 728 college students (141 Asian American, 449 European American, and 138 Hispanic/Latinx individuals) attending a university in the northeast United States. Results indicated that the relationship between selfcriticism and self-compassion was significantly different across ethnicity. In addition, the relationships between these two constructs (i.e., self-criticism and self-compassion) and perceived health were moderated by ethnicity. Our findings suggest that focusing on global self-compassion scores (i.e., total SCS scores) may miss some of the important cultural or ethnic differences in the relationships between self-criticism, selfcompassion, and perceived health.
Revista Publicando, 2018
Self-criticism is often associated with major depression disorder and some psychological problems. Whether patient or normal, everybody knows the evaluation sense and does criticism in a routine basis, however the rate of this habit is different in each individual. This study examines the impact of self-criticism on well-being and vulnerability's levels. 255 samples (115 male, 140 female) from convenient sampling were included and responded to the scale of Self-criticism, SCL-25 and Ryff scale of Psychological wellbeing. A central point emerging from the literature review are mediated by the selfcriticism role between well-being and mental and physical vulnerability. Both forms of Self-criticism negatively affected mental and physical vulnerability while just internal form of self-criticism lowered the well-being levels. Moreover our data shed light on the roles of Self-efficacy and human agency on the self-criticism levels and support the importance of human agency on well-being, life satisfaction and vulnerability. This findings have implication for future research to considering cultural and marital status of the participants in front of these variables and also examine the interventions of self-efficacy on vulnerability, well-being and the level of psychological problems.
The relationship between self-compassion and chronic depression: a cross-sectional clinical study
The Psychologist: Practice & Research Journal, 1(2), 1-13, 2018
Background: At present, depression is the world's most common psychopathology. Self-compassion is a psychological concept that has shown promise regarding its impact on psychopathology. Despite a vast literature studying the relationship between depression and self-compassion, few studies about this association were done in clinical samples. Goals: This study sought to analyze the associations between self-compassion, its dimensions and symptomatology of depression, during and after a therapeutic intervention. Methods: A non-probabilistic sampling method was used. All participants had been diagnosed with persistent depression disorder (dysthymia) and were treated in a residential therapeutic community for a period of six to eight months. The original sample was divided into two groups: during (In-Treatment) and after treatment (one-year Post-Treatment). The assessment protocol was composed of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI II), Self-Compassion Scale (SELFCS) and sociodemographic characterization. Results: The sample was composed of 63 participants, 28 females and 35 males (age: M = 32.84, SD = 10.24). Women presented lower levels of self-kindness and self-compassion (total score), and higher levels of all the negative dimensions of SELFCS. Patients with moderate or severe symptoms of depression indicated a lower total score of self-compassion as well as higher scores in all the negative dimensions; patients having undergone previous treatments showed higher levels of symptomatology of depression. The group assessed after the intervention presented higher levels of self-compassion and lower levels of over-identification, when compared to the group that was assessed still undergoing treatment. Finally, the self-judgment dimension of the SELFCS stands out as a predictor of depression for the total sample and the SELFCS's isolation dimension is a predictor of BDI's scores for the group undergoing treatment. Discussion: Although most of the results are in line with similar findings of the existing literature about the relationship between the studied variables, some were unexpected, and may guide the direction of future studies and the application of these concepts within the clinical context.
Mindfulness
Objectives Although research in self-compassion has been rapidly growing, there is still substantial controversy about its meaning and measurement. The controversy centers on Neff’s popular Self- Compassion Scale (SCS) and the argument that compassionate self-responding (CSR) and uncompassionate self-responding (UCS) are a single dimension versus the argument that they are two semi-independent, unipolar dimensions, with UCS not reflective of “true” self-compassion. Methods We review the evidence for both positions and conclude that the data cannot yet resolve the debate. Results Neither position is proven to be right or wrong. We recommend the way forward is to let go of traditional factor analytic approaches and examine self-compassionate behavior as a dynamic network of interacting processes that are influenced by context. This leads us to three classes of testable hypotheses. The link between CS and UCS will depend on the timeframe of measurement, current circumstances, and indiv...
Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 2019
Objective: This study aimed to explore the direct and indirect effects of self-criticism on postpartum depressive symptoms, through postpartum cognitions, and analyse the moderating role of self-compassion in this relationship. Background: Self-criticism and self-compassion are associated with postpartum depression. However, further research is needed to understand how these mechanisms operate in the development/maintenance of depressive symptoms. Methods: 686 women in the postpartum period (up to 12 months after birth) recruited in-person and online answered a cross-sectional survey. Results: The effect of self-criticism on postpartum depressive symptoms occurred sequentially, increasing the frequency of negative automatic thoughts and subsequently the metacognitive appraisal of these thoughts. Self-compassion had a moderating effect only on the relation between self-criticism and postpartum cognitions. The effect of selfcriticism on postpartum cognitions decreased in the presence of higher self-compassion. Conclusion: This study emphasises the negative effect of a self-critical thinking style and of a negative appraisal of thought's content on depression symptoms. Moreover, this work underscores the buffering role of self-compassion in the relationship between self-criticism and postpartum cognitions. These results highlight the need to address the reduction of self-criticism and the promotion of self-compassion strategies to deal with postpartum cognitions, in order to prevent and treat postpartum depressive symptoms.