Does Compassion-Focused Therapy-Based Online Intervention Work for Chinese International Students With High Self-Criticism? A Randomized Controlled Trail

Abstract

Self-criticism represents a central phenomenon among a variety of psychological distress and has been shown to relate to the motivational systems of competing and social ranking. The purpose of our study was to test the effect of online compassion-focused therapy (CFT)-based intervention (CFI) on Chinese international students in South Korea suffering from high self-criticism and related psychological distress. Thirty-two Chinese international students with a high level of self-criticism were randomized to either a four-session CFI group, a four-session rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT)—based online self-help approach group, or a wait-list (WL) control group. The results suggest that the CFI group demonstrated significant improvements in self-criticism, compassion, depression, anxiety, and shame, and these were greater than those in the REBT and WL groups. Our work provides evidence that CFI offers a possible approach for reducing self-criticism and related psychological distress and increasing compassion level for young Chinese populations.

Application of Positive Psychology in Digital Interventions for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Controlled Trials

“…The Broaden-and-Build theory of positive emotion states that certain discrete positive emotions e.g., joy, contentment, pride, and love, share the ability to broaden momentary thought-action repertoires of people and build their enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources [91]. Other studies frequently mentioned in the articles included acceptance and commitment theory [78] (oriented towards development of psychological flexibility), affect theory [92] (emotions generating weak or strong ties to relations), attachment theory [84,92,93] (individuals born with innate behaviors function to attract proximity to attachment figures), Eisenberg's theory of parent emotion socialization [94] (parents' emotion socialization behaviors driving children's emotion socialization), emotion-focused therapy theory [95] (integrating person-focused care with modern emotion theory), motivational theory of life-span development (Heckausen's theory) [80] (role of individual in life-span development), Bandura's selfefficacy theory [96] (belief that one can execute needed steps to achieve a goal), social mentality theory [84,93] (both care-seeking and caregiving mentalities are activated when one is being selfcompassionate/reassuring), embodiment theory [77] (psychological processes influenced by body), self-determination theory [89] (internalizing regulation and self-regulation), theory of mindfulness [97] (being actively engaged is beneficial for a rigid and judgmental mindset), Festinger's social comparison theory [86] (based on social comparison), stress and coping theory [87] (coping with stressful situations) and humor theory [98] (cognitive view of humor).…”

“…Pizarro-Ruiz et al conducted guided mindfulness sessions via a smartphone app (Aire Fresco)[97]. Gu et al, experimented on Chinese students to mitigate depression and anxiety through online individual counseling sessions regarding mindfulness meditation (MP3 files)[93].Positive Psychology and Self-Compassion: Lennard et al provided online selfcompassion training for mothers [78]. Drozd et al experimented with an internet-based program, "Better Days," which included psychoeducational exercises to increase happiness [105].…”