Self-Compassion and Authentic-Durable Happiness During COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Meaning of Life and the Moderating Role of COVID-19 Burnout

Investigating the Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship Between Authenticity and Alexithymia in University Students

The aim of our study is to investigate the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between authenticity and alexithymia by examining the relationships between authenticity, alexithymia and self-compassion. The data collected via email by using three scales from the students of a foundation university in Istanbul/Turkey in the spring semester of 2022-2023. The data collection method was a descriptive cross-sectional study and the data were collected on a voluntary basis. Since it was thought that there would be a difference between the departments, data were collected from three different departments. The sample included 263 participants, 139 were English Language Teaching, 107 were Guidance and Psychological Counseling, and 17 were Elementary Mathematics Teaching students. The average age of the participants was 22.11 ± 3.59, 257 of them were single and 6 of them were married. The data were evaluated by using the SPSS 22.0 and LISREL 8.80 programs. While descriptive analyses were used in the evaluation, the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between authenticity and alexithymia was tested with Structural Equation Modeling. When the measurement model was examined, it was seen that there was a relationship between authenticity and alexithymia (r = -.40; p < .000), between self-compassion and alexithymia (r = - .85; p < .001) and between self-compassion and authenticity (r = .43; p < .001). When the structural equation model was examined, it was found that the relationship between authenticity and alexithymia in the measurement model (r = -.40) decreased to (β = - .05; p > .005) when the mediating role of self-compassion was examined and the relationship was found to be insignificant. When this path was removed from the model and the model was re-examined, the goodness of fit values of the model were χ2/df (71.12/51) ratio = 1.174; RMSEA = .039; SRMR = .050; CFI= .99; NFI = .96; NNFI = .98; IFI = .99; RFI = .95 and GFI = .96. In the study, it was found that self-compassion has a full mediating role in the relationship between authenticity and alexithymia in three departments. The relationship between authenticity and alexithymia goes through self-compassion.

A repeated cross-sectional pilot study of the relationship between perceived a community with shared future for doctor-patient and benefit finding: the mediating role of health self-consciousness and moderating role of anxiety

OBJECTIVE

Since January 8, 2023, China has managed COVID-19 as a Class-B infectious disease, marking the epidemic's transition to a low-level stage. This study analyzes the relationship between the public's perceived a community with shared future for doctor-patient (PCSF), health self-consciousness, benefit finding, and anxiety in this stage. Additionally, it compares changes in these variables across different stages of COVID-19.

METHODS

Using a repeated cross-sectional design, three surveys were conducted respectively in three different stages of COVID-19 in China. Specifically, the first survey was conducted in Beijing, Dalian, Zhengzhou, Heihe, and Shangrao from November 13 to 20, 2021 in the outbreak stage of COVID-19, yielding 1,252 valid responses out of 1,534 collected questionnaires. The second survey was conducted in Dalian, Zhengzhou, Heihe, Shangrao, and Lanzhou from December 1 to 19, 2021 in the stable stage of COVID-19, with 872 valid responses obtained from 1,075 collected questionnaires. The third survey was conducted in Beijing, Dalian, Zhengzhou, Heihe, Shangrao, Lanzhou, and Chengdu from January 29 to February 4, 2023 in the low epidemic level stage of COVID-19, achieving 2,113 valid responses from the 2,461 questionnaires collected.

RESULTS

Unlike in the outbreak stage but similar to the stable stage, the public's anxiety, health self-consciousness and benefit finding decreased while PCSF was improved in the low epidemic level stage. Consistent with both the outbreak and stable stage, PCSF, health self-consciousness, benefit finding, and anxiety showed positive correlations in the low epidemic level stage, with health self-consciousness partially mediating the positive impact of PCSF on benefit finding. Unlike in the stable stage but similar to the outbreak stage, anxiety did not moderate the relationship between PCSF and health self-consciousness in the low epidemic level stage.

CONCLUSIONS

The public's health self-consciousness, benefit finding, and anxiety decreased, while PCSF increased in the low epidemic level stage. Furthermore, PCSF had a greater impact on benefit finding, and anxiety's impact on health self-consciousness was significantly reduced. Across different stages of COVID-19, PCSF directly increased benefit finding and also enhanced benefit finding by improving health self-consciousness. Thus, comprehensive intervention measures are beneficial in the low epidemic level stage.

The Role of Self-Compassion and Attributions in the Mental Health of Older Adolescents amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aimed to examine the relationship among self-compassion, attributional styles, and mental health and their components in older adolescents in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The role of each component of self-compassion (self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness, self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification) and attributions (globality, stability, self-worth, and negative consequences) in predicting mental health was also analyzed. There were 322 participants aged 18 to 22 that participated in an online survey. The participants filled out a form that consisted of sociodemographic questions, COVID-19-related questions, the Self-Compassion Scale, the Mental Health Continuum-short form-and the Cognitive Styles Questionnaire-very short form. The results indicated moderate levels of self-compassion, attributions, and mental health in participants. Furthermore, gender differences in self-compassion were confirmed, meaning that male participants had higher total levels of self-compassion, and certain differences were observed on attribution subscales, but not on well-being subscales. Self-compassion and mental health were found to be positively correlated with each other and negatively correlated with negative attributions. Of the four attributional components, stability and negative consequences were revealed to be significant negative predictors in the first step but lost their significance with the inclusion of self-compassion components in the second step of the analysis. Regarding the six components of self-compassion, self-kindness, recoded isolation, and common humanity were significant positive predictors in the second step of the analysis. COVID-19-related items did not show any significant intergroup differences. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between positive mental health, self-compassion, and attributions in older adolescents so that they can be used as theoretical support for related interventions, especially during and after times of crisis, such as a pandemic.