Self-compassion and compassion from others have played a vital role in mitigating the pandemic’s potential negative impact on mental health and social safeness, suggests research.
The study by Matos, McEwan, Kanovsky et al, published in Mindfulness in January, calls for compassion-focused interventions to be prioritised to promote resilience and address mental health problems during and following the pandemic. It says the perceived threat of COVID-19 was associated with higher scores in depression, anxiety and stress, and lower scores in social safeness – the ability to be open and receptive to support and compassion from others.
Self-compassion and compassion from others were associated with lower psychological distress and higher social safeness, and compassion for others was associated with lower depressive symptoms. Self-compassion moderated the relationship between perceived threat of COVID-19 on depression, anxiety and stress, whereas compassion from others moderated the effects of fears of contracting COVID-19 on social safeness.
These effects were consistent across 21 countries – the study, Compassion Protects Mental Health and Social Safeness During the COVID-19 Pandemic Across 21 Countries was conducted in a sample of 4,057 adult participants from the general community population, collected across 21 countries from Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, Asia and Oceania. Participants completed self-report measures of perceived threat of COVID-19, compassion (for self, for others, from others), depression, anxiety, stress and social safeness.
- Read more: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01822-2