Table 2.
Cross-Sectional Research on the Benefits of Self-Compassion
| Study | Sample | N | Variables Analyzed | Associations Between SC and Other Variables | Complex Relationships Among Variables (Mediation and Moderation) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aruta et al (2022).40 | Counselors | 158 | SCS-SF; MHSIS; MHSAS | Mental help-seeking intention (+); mental help-seeking attitudes (+) | Self-compassion → Mental help-seeking attitudes → Mental help-seeking intention The relationship between Self-compassion and Mental help-seeking attitudes is moderated by age. |
| Beaumont et al (2016).27 | Students counsellors and student cognitive behavioral psychotherapists. | 54 | PROQOL; SCS; WEMWBS-SF; CS | Burnout (-); secondary traumatic stress (-); well-being (+) | |
| Bourgault & Dionne (2019).38 | Psychologists | 178 | SCS-SF; FFMQ; TPI-T; IDPESQ-14 | Mindfulness (+); therapeutic presence (+); psychological distress (-) | Mindfulness → Self-compassion and Psychological distress→ Therapeutic presence |
| Finlay-Jones et al (2015).39 | Professional and trainee psychologists | 198 | SCS-SF; DERS; DASS-21 (stress subscale); BFI-N | Emotion regulation difficulties (-); stress (-) | Self-compassion → Emotion regulation difficulties→ Stress |
| Fulton (2016).42 | Master’s counselling students | 48 students and 55 patients | FFMQ; SCS; SEQ; AAQ-II; MSTATS; BLRI-CF; | Mindfulness (+); Session depth (assessed by therapist) (+); experiential avoidance (-); tolerance to ambiguity (+) | |
| Fulton, (2018).43 | Master’s counselling interns | 152 | SOFI; FFMQ | Mindfulness (+); Compassion for others (+) | Mindfulness → Self-compassion → Compassion for others |
| Kotera et al (2021).28 | Psychotherapists | 126 | MBI (2-items); SCS-SF; WLBC; TS | Emotional exhaustion (-); depersonalisation (-); work-life balance (+) | Work-life balance → Self-compassion → Emotional exhaustion |
| Latorre et al (2021).41 | Counselling and clinical psychology doctoral trainees | 192 | SCS-SF; MAAS; CSES; PCS-R | Mindfulness (+); self-efficacy (+); professional competencies (+) | Mindfulness → Self-compassion → Self-efficacy Mindfulness → Self-compassion → Self-assessed professional competency |
| McCade et al (2021).29 | Psychologists | 248 | SCS-SF; CBI; DASS-21 (depression subscale) | Burnout (-); depression (-) | Self-compassion moderates the relationship between burnout and depression |
| Ondrejková & Halamová (2022).30 | Helping professions (nurses, doctors, paramedics, home nurses, teachers, psychologists, psychotherapists and coaches, social workers, priests and pastors, and police officers). | 607 | PROQOL; SOCS-S; SOCS-O; FSCRS | Compassion fatigue (-) | Profession → self-compassion and self-criticism → Compassion fatigue |
| Richardson et al (2020).31 | Students in clinical/counseling psychology doctoral programs | 119 | APS-R (Discrepancy subscale); SCS; IDAS-II; CBI (Personal burnout subscale); SCS; IDAS-II; CBI (Personal burnout subscale). | Burnout (-); depression (-); self-critical perfectionism (-) | Self-critical perfectionism → Self-compassion → Depression Self-critical perfectionism → Self-compassion → Burnout |
| Roxas et al (2019).37 | School counselors, counseling psychologists and counselors-in-training | 231 | CS; SCS; HFS; SWBSF-SF; SWBSF-SF | Compassion for others (+); well-being (+); forgiveness of others/self (+) | Compassion for others → Forgiveness of others → Subjective Well Being. Self-compassion → Forgiveness of others → Subjective Well Being. |
| Tigranyan et al (2021).44 | Clinical and counselling psychology doctoral students | 84 | SCS-SF; AMS-R; GAD-7; GSE; PHQ-9; PCI; RSES; CIPS | Perfectionistic cognitions (+); anxiety (+); achievement motives (-); experiences of impostor phenomenon (+) | |
| Yip et al (2017).32 | Clinical psychologists and trainees. | 77 | SCS-SF; IMF-SF; PROQOL; CS; SDRS-5 | Self-warmth: Mindfulness (+); compassion to clients (+); age (+); years of experience (+); self-coldness (-); burnout (-); secondary traumatic stress (-) Self-coldness: Burnout (+); secondary traumatic stress (+); mindfulness (-); compassion to clients (-); age (-); years of experience (-) |
Mindfulness → Self-coldness → Burnout Mindfulness → Self-coldness → Secondary Traumatic Stress Mindfulness → Self-warmth → Compassion to clients Mindfulness → Self-warmth → Secondary Traumatic Stress |
Notes: (+) and (-) represent positive and negative associations between variables, respectively; the arrow → represents associations between variables involved in mediation relationships.
Abbreviations: AAQ-II, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire - II (Bond et al, 2011); AMS-R, Achievement Motives Scale (Lang & Fries, 2006); APS-R, Discrepancy subscale of the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (Slaney et al, 2001); FI, Neuroticism subscale of the Big Five Inventory (John et al, 1991); BLRI, Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory-Client Form (Barrett-Lennard, 1962); CBI, Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (Kristensen et al, 2005); CIPS, Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (Clance, 1986); CS, Compassion to Others Scale (Pommier, 2011); CSES, Counselor Self-Efficacy Scale (Melchert et al, 1996); DASS-21, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995); DERS, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (Gratz & Roemer, 2004); FFMQ, Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (Baer et al, 2006); FMI-SF, Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (Walach et al, 2006); FSCRS, Forms of Self-Criticizing/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale (Gilbert et al, 2004); GAD-7, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, and Löwe, 2006); GSE, General Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995); HFS, Heartland Forgiveness Scale (Thompson et al, 2005); IDAS-II, Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms-Second Version (Watson et al, 2012); IDPESQ-14, Psychological Distress Index - Santé Québec Survey (Préville et al, 1992); MAAS, Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (Brown & Ryan, 2003); MBI, Maslach Burnout Inventory 2 item-version (West et al, 2012); MHSAS, Mental Help-Seeking Attitudes Scale (Hammer et al, 2018); MHSIS, Mental Help-Seeking Intention Scale (Hammer & Spiker, 2018); MSTATS, Multiple Stimulus Types Ambiguity Tolerance Scale-II (McClain, 2009); PCI, Perfectionistic Cognitions Inventory (Flett et al, 1998); PCS-R, Professional Competency Scale-Revised (Taylor, 2015); PHQ-9, Patient Health Questionnaire (Kroenke et al, 2001); PROQOL, Professional Quality of Life Scale, version 5 (Stamm, 2009, 2010); RSES, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Nho, 2000); SCS, Self-Compassion Scale (long version) (Neff, 2003); SCS-SF, Self-Compassion Scale - Short Form (Raes et al, 2011); SDRS-5, Socially Desirable Response Set (Hays et al, 1989); SEQ, Session Evaluation Questionnaire-Form 5 (Stiles & Snow, 1984); SOCS-O, Sussex-Oxford Compassion for Others scale (Gu et al, 2019); SOCS-S, Sussex-Oxford Compassion for the Self Scale (Gu et al, 2019); SOFI, Self-Other Four Immeasurables (Kraus & Sears, 2009); SWBSF-SF, Subjective Well-Being Scale for Filipinos- Short Form (Hernández, 2010); TPI-T, Therapeutic Presence Inventory - Psychotherapist version (Geller, 2002); TS, Telepressure Scale (Montemurro & Perrini, 2020); WEMWBS-SF, Short Warwick and Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (Tennant et al, 2009); WLBC, Work-Life Balance Checklist (Daniels & Carraher, 2000).