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A Close Examination of the Relationship Between Self-Compassion and Depressive Symptoms.

ABSTRACT: Self-compassion has shown to be beneficial for individuals' wellbeing; in particular, it has been associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to further explore the association between self-compassion, as measured by the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), and depressive symptoms, in a large representative sample of community adults (n?=?734, Mean age?=?55.7, SD?=?15.2). We examined the association of depressive symptoms with the SCS total score, the SCS six subscales (i.e., self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness, self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification), and the SCS positive and negative items (referred to as self-compassion and self-coldness, respectively). In addition, we explored the predictive ability of self-compassion, self-coldness, and the SCS six subscales on depressive symptoms both cross-sectionally and over a 1-year period of time. Finally, we sought to test the moderating role of self-compassion on the association between self-coldness and depressive symptoms. Results showed that the SCS negative items and subscales were more strongly related to depressive symptoms than the SCS positive items and subscales. Accordingly, self-coldness was a stronger predictor of depressive symptoms, cross-sectionally and over a 1-year timeframe, when compared with self-compassion. Particularly, the feeling of being isolated was shown to be strongly associated with depressive symptoms. We did not find substantial evidence for a moderating role of self-compassion on the association between self-coldness and depressive symptoms. Future research needs to determine the added value of assessing self-coldness and whether or not it is an essential part of self-compassion.

SUBMITTER: Lopez A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6153895 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A Close Examination of the Relationship Between Self-Compassion and Depressive Symptoms.

López Angélica A Sanderman Robbert R Schroevers Maya J MJ

Mindfulness 20180129 5

Self-compassion has shown to be beneficial for individuals' wellbeing; in particular, it has been associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to further explore the association between self-compassion, as measured by the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), and depressive symptoms, in a large representative sample of community adults (<i>n</i> = 734, Mean age = 55.7, SD = 15.2). We examined the association of depressive symptoms with the SCS total score, the SCS si ...[more]

PMID: 30294388

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Project description:IntroductionInterpersonal strain is linked with depressive symptoms in middle-aged adults. One possible mechanism accounting for this relation is a reduction in hope, defined as the belief in one's capacity both to reach and to generate a variety of ways to obtain goals. The strength of the strain-depressive symptoms relation is not uniform across individuals, however, pointing to the likelihood that individual differences in the ability to successfully navigate relationship strain play a role in mitigating its negative effects. One potential moderator of the strain - depressive symptoms relation is self-compassion, which encompasses the capacity to respond to one's own negative thoughts and experiences in a kind and nonjudgmental way. Although theory and empirical evidence suggest that self-compassion is protective against the impact of stress on mental health outcomes, little research has investigated how self-compassion operates in the context of relationship strain. In addition, few studies have examined psychological mechanisms by which self-compassion protects against mental health outcomes, depression in particular. Thus, this study examined 1) the extent to which hope mediates the relation between family strain and depressive symptoms, and 2) whether these indirect effects are conditional on self-compassion in a community sample of middle-aged adults.MethodsSelf-reported family strain, self-compassion, hope, and depressive symptoms were assessed in a community sample of 762 middle-aged adults aged 40-65. Follow-up measures of depressive symptoms were assessed approximately 20 months later.ResultsResults from structural equation models indicated that hope mediated the relation between family strain and depressive symptoms and the indirect effect was conditional on levels of self-compassion. For individuals high versus low in self-compassion, strain-related declines in hope predicted smaller increases in depressive symptoms.DiscussionTaken together, the findings suggest that family strain may lead individuals to experience less hope and subsequent increases in depressive symptoms. However, a self-compassionate attitude may serve as a resilience resource, weakening the hope - depressive symptoms relation, a finding that holds promise for future research on the development and refinement of self-compassion interventions.

Project description:BackgroundSeveral previous studies have shown that dietary patterns are associated with the incidence of depressive symptoms. However, the results have been inconsistent. This study aimed to prospectively investigate the association between dietary patterns and the risk of depressive symptoms in two large cohort studies.MethodsThe Tianjin Chronic Low-grade Systemic Inflammation and Health (TCLSIH) cohort study included a total of 7,094 participants living in Tianjin, China from 2013 to 2019, and the UK Biobank cohort study includes 96,810 participants who were recruited from 22 assessment centers across the UK taken between 2006 and 2010. All participants were free of a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and depressive symptoms at baseline. Dietary patterns at baseline were identified with factor analysis based on responses to a validated food frequency questionnaire in TCLSIH or Oxford WebQ in UK Biobank. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Chinese version of the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) in TCLSIH or hospital inpatient records in UK Biobank. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the association between dietary patterns and depressive symptoms.ResultsA total of 989, and 1,303 participants developed depressive symptoms during 17,410 and 709,931 person-years of follow-up. After adjusting for several potential confounders, the multivariable HRs (95% CIs) of the depressive symptoms were 0.71 (0.57, 0.88) for traditional Chinese dietary pattern, 1.29 (1.07, 1.55) for processed animal offal included animal food dietary pattern, and 1.22 (1.02, 1.46) for sugar rich dietary pattern in TCLSIH (all Q4 vs Q1). In the UK Biobank, the HRs (95% CIs) of depressive symptoms were 1.39 (1.16, 1.68) for processed food dietary pattern (Q4 vs Q1), 0.90 (0.77, 1.00) for healthy dietary pattern (Q3 vs Q1), and 0.89 (0.75, 1.05) for meat dietary pattern (Q4 vs Q1) in the final adjusted model.ConclusionDietary patterns rich in processed foods were associated with a higher risk of depressive symptoms, and following a traditional Chinese dietary pattern or healthy dietary pattern was associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms, whereas meat dietary pattern was not associated.

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A Close Examination of the Relationship Between Self-Compassion and Depressive Symptoms.

Publications

A Close Examination of the Relationship Between Self-Compassion and Depressive Symptoms.

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