A cross-cultural exploration of compassion, and facilitators and inhibitors of compassion in UK and Sri Lankan people

Abstract

Background Practising compassion has shown to increase well-being and reduce distress in people across cultures. However, very little research has explored cultural differences in different facets of compassion with a dearth of research evident especially in the Asian context. Several inhibitors and facilitators of compassion have been identified although the nuances of cultural differences of these remain unexploited. This study aimed to discover cross-cultural similarities and differences of the levels of compassion, facilitators and inhibitors of compassion between Sri Lankan and UK people. Methods A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based quantitative research was conducted among 149 Sri Lankan and 300 UK participants. Individual predictors (such as fears of compassion, self-reassurance, external shame, social safeness and pleasure, depression and anxiety) were also explored in relation to compassion, compassion to others, and compassion from others in each group. Results The results indicated that Sri Lankan participants were more self-reassured and self-compassionate and self-identifying as a Buddhist predicted higher self-compassion, when compared to UK participants. However, Sri Lankan participants reported higher levels of external shame and fear of compassion not just towards themselves, but also towards and from others, indicating difficulty in engaging compassionately with others. In contrast, UK participants reported higher social safeness, indicating that they were more likely to feel safe and soothed by the society than the Sri Lankan participants. Conclusions Society plays a pivotal role in shaping one's experiences of compassion. This study suggests that specific cultural and social factors should be considered when implementing Western compassionate approaches to non-Western settings.

Compassion‐based interventions in Asian communities: A meta‐analysis of randomised controlled trials

“…Therefore, it seems fair to propose that the CEAS may be a more appropriate measure of compassion. However, none of the papers included in this meta-analysis used the CEAS, although other recent research using this measure in Asian countries such as Japan (Asano et al, 2020) and Sri Lanka (Kariyawasam et al, 2021(Kariyawasam et al, , 2022 have emphasised the advantages of using this measure (Asano et al, 2020). Thus, it would be useful for future research to investigate the effectiveness of compassion-based interventions using the CEAS in Asian communities to further understand the interplay between the three flows of compassion and well-being.…”

“…Huang et al, 2021 ; Tung, 2020 ) were found to be effective in increasing self‐compassion and well‐being and in reducing negative affect in Asian communities. Given that many people from Asian backgrounds do not seek help for their emotional well‐being due to high shame and criticism, stigma and other help‐seeking barriers in their societies (Kariyawasam et al, 2022 ; Mak et al, 2019 ), it seems fair to propose that online interventions such as the Self‐Compassion App (Beaumont & Irons, 2021 ) maybe more appropriate for people in Asian communities. This would also reduce the need and cost of training clinicians or other specialist staff to deliver compassion‐based approaches in cultures where there are high levels of poverty and limited funding for mental health clinics.…”

“…Overall, this review highlights that the lack of research exploring the effectiveness of compassionbased interventions in Eastern cultures, as there were only three Asian countries that have researched this area so far. This was surprising given that many Asian countries such as Sri Lanka are familiar with compassion practice due to the significant Buddhist influence in such cultures (Kariyawasam et al, 2021(Kariyawasam et al, , 2022.…”