Self-Criticism and Depressive Symptoms: Mediating Role of Self-Compassion

• Published in: Omega: Journal of Death and Dying Vol. 80; no. 2; pp. 202 - 223
• Main Authors: Zhang, Huaiyu, Watson-Singleton, Natalie N., Pollard, Sara E., Pittman, Delishia M., Lamis, Dorian A., Fischer, Nicole L., Patterson, Bobbi, Kaslow, Nadine J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-12-2019; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; African Americans; African Americans - psychology; Bootstrap method; Depression - psychology; Empathy; Female; Humans; Intervention; Low income groups; Male; Mental depression; Mental health; Middle Aged; Positive psychology; Quality of life; Quality of Life - psychology; Resilience; Self compassion; Self-Assessment; Selfcriticism; Shame; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Suicide; Suicide, Attempted - psychology; Suicides & suicide attempts; Sympathy; Symptoms; Young Adult; African Americans; depressive symptoms; self-criticism; suicide; self-compassion
• ISSN: 0030-2228; 1541-3764
• DOI: 10.1177/0030222817729609

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 focus on enhancing self-compassion. These results also highlight self-compassion as a positive trait with promise to improve people’s quality of life and suggest that self-compassion-focused interventions are consistent with a positive psychology framework.