Self-Compassion and Psychological Well-Being Among Malaysian Counselors: The Mediating Role of Resilience

Mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between psychological flexibility and psychological well-being in women with breast cancer

Previous studies have investigated the relationship between psychological flexibility and psychological well-being among several populations. In addition to examine the relationship between these two variables, this study enhances our understanding about the process underlying the relationship between psychological flexibility and psychological well-being among women with breast cancer. The aim of the present study is to test the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between psychological flexibility and psychological well-being among Iranian women with breast cancer. The participants of this study, 220 women with breast cancer (ages 28-58 years, mean age: 42.16, SD: ±6.9.54), from three hospitals in Tehran, Iran, completed questionnaires about psychological flexibility, self-compassion, and psychological well-being. The results from structural equation modeling indicated that psychological flexibility and self-compassion positively predicted psychological well-being and psychological inflexibility negatively predicted psychological well-being among breast cancer patients. The findings from mediation analysis demonstrated that self-compassion partially mediated the relationships between psychological flexibility and psychological inflexibility with psychological well-being. The present study brings to light an underlying mechanism of the relationships between psychological flexibility and psychological inflexibility with psychological well-being via the mediating variable of self-compassion for patients with breast cancer.

Self-compassion modulates autonomic and psychological responses to stress among adults with generalized anxiety disorders

Background

Self-compassion is associated with emotional well-being, yet its benefits in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) patients remain unclear. This study investigated the impact of self-compassion on emotional and physiological stress responses in individuals diagnosed with GAD.

Methods

Seventy-seven GAD patients were categorized into high (n = 39) and low (n = 38) self-compassion groups using the Self-Compassion Scale. Electrocardiograms were recorded during a stress-inducing task, in which negative feedback was provided on personal intelligence and career development. Participants reported state anxiety and perceived stress pre- and post-task.

Results

When exposed to a stressor, individuals with higher self-compassion had lower heart rates (t (75) = -2.06, p = 0.043), higher heart rate variability (t (75) = 2.73, p = 0.04), and lower anxiety (t (75) = -2.07, p = 0.041) compared to the lower self-compassion group. Moreover, heart rate variability was negatively correlated with anxiety across patients (r = -0.31, df = 75, p = 0.03).

Conclusion

These results highlight the role of self-compassion in managing psychological and physiological responses to stress in GAD patients and indicate the potential of self-compassion interventions in GAD treatments.

Self-compassion and association with distress, depression, and anxiety among displaced Syrians: A population-based study

Displaced communities are at increased risk of poor mental health with limited resources for treatment. Self-compassion moderates the impacts of stressors on mental health in high-income country general population samples, but its impact has not been described among people who have experienced displacement and associated trauma. The aim of this study was to characterize the associations between self-compassion, mental health, and resilience in a sample of displaced Syrian adults living in Jordan. This is a cross-sectional study using four validated survey tools measuring self-compassion, resilience, mental health, and traumatic exposure. Syrian adults who presented to four different community organizations serving refugees within Amman, Jordan were invited to participate. A total of 272 displaced Syrians were included in the final analysis. A majority of those surveyed were positive for emotional distress (84.6%), depression (85.7%), and anxiety (76.5%). In univariate analysis there was a significant lower risk of emotional distress, depression, and anxiety, with both higher resilience and self-compassion. However, in the multivariate model only self-compassion remained significantly associated with less emotional distress, depression, and anxiety, independent of resilience and other covariates. Female gender, poor financial stability, and high levels of traumatic exposure were also identified as persistent predictors of mental health morbidity. The findings of this study suggest that self-compassion is associated with less distress, depression, and anxiety in displaced individuals; suggesting it might be protective against poor mental health. Self-compassion is a modifiable factor that can be utilized as a tool by healthcare professionals and communities caring for refugees to promote positive mental health outcomes.

Effect of compassion fatigue on emotional labor in female nurses: Moderating effect of self-compassion

Emotional labor is common in nursing but may be affected by the mental state of nurses. This study explored the effect of compassion fatigue on emotional labor and whether self-compassion moderates this effect of compassion fatigue.

METHODS

A two-stage survey design with a convenience sample. Participants were female nursing staff recruited from emergency departments, intensive care units, ward nursing units, and outpatient departments of medical centers, regional hospitals, and district hospitals in Taiwan. A total of 300 questionnaire copies in each of the first and second stages were distributed, and 272 pairs of responses were retrieved (valid response rate = 91%). The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were tested, and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with AMOS 21. The proposed hypotheses were verified using hierarchical regression conducted with SPSS version 25.0.

RESULTS

This study revealed that compassion fatigue positively predicted surface acting (β = 0.12, p < 0.05) and negatively predicted deep acting (β = -0.18, p < 0.01) and expression of genuine emotions (β = -0.31, p < 0.01). In addition, self-compassion negatively moderates the relationships between compassion fatigue and surface acting (β = -0.12, p < 0.05), and positively moderates the relationships between compassion fatigue and expression of genuine emotions (β = 0.15, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

To avoid excessive consumption of emotional resources, nurses with high compassion fatigue may employ surface acting by engaging in emotional labor without making an effort to adjust their feelings. Nurses need also be sympathized with, and such sympathy can come from hospitals, supervisors, colleagues, and, most crucially, the nurses themselves. Hospital executives should propose improvement strategies that can prevent the compassion fatigue on nurses, such as improving nurses' self-compassion.

Mental Health of Japanese Workers: Amotivation Mediates Self-Compassion on Mental Health Problems

Workplace mental health is a cause for concern in many countries. Globally, 78% of the workforce experienced impairment of their mental health in 2020. In Japan, more than half of employees are mentally distressed. Previously, research has identified that self-compassion (i.e., being kind and understanding towards oneself) and work motivation were important to their mental health. However, how these three components relate to each other remains to be elucidated. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the relationship between mental health problems, self-compassion and work motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and amotivation). A cross-sectional design was employed, where 165 Japanese workers completed self-report scales regarding those three components. A correlation and path analyses were conducted. Mental health problems were positively associated with amotivation and negatively associated with age and self-compassion. While intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation did not mediate the impact of self-compassion on mental health problems, amotivation did. The findings can help managers and organizational psychologists help identify effective approaches to improving work mental health.

Self-Compassion Scale for Youth: Turkish Adaptation and Exploration of the Relationship with Resilience, Depression, and Well-being

Self-compassion refers to being kind, understanding, and accepting toward oneself in times of failure, frustration, or negative feelings. Since self-compassion is related to both physical and psychological well-being, measuring and understanding self-compassion in different populations carries importance for their mental well-being and life satisfaction outcomes. One such group is the youth, who experience unique developmental challenges. For this purpose, a Self-Compassion Scale for Youth (SCS-Y) was developed (Neff et al., 2021) and this paper presents its Turkish adaptation. The Turkish translation of SCS-Y was tested on a sample of Turkish youth (N = 450, 61.8% female, M _age= 13.09 ± 1.59, range = 11-15) and was found to have acceptable reliability. The scale showed a similar structure to the original testing on American youth with a bifactor model of a general self-compassion score and six subscale scores, and a two-bifactor model where negative and positive aspects are grouped together. Self-compassion was positively related to resilience and well-being, and negatively related to depression. A serial mediation analysis showed self-compassion to have a direct and positive effect on resilience, and to have an indirect effect on well-being mediated by resilience and depression. Given that the trainable skill of self-compassion is associated with higher resilience, lower depression, and better well-being, the value of this scale and its different adaptations becomes evident, as they enable measuring self-compassion in youth in various populations such as the present Turkish one and guiding the design of future interventions to increase self-compassion, targeted for the specific concerns of the youth.