Self-compassion mediates the link between dependency and depressive symptomatology in college students

Abstract

Depression is highly prevalent among college students and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Dependency is among the known personality traits that predict an elevated risk for depression. Prior research has focused on the depressogenic role of self-critical thoughts among destructive overdependent (DO) individuals but has not considered other internal processes (such as self-compassion) that might influence mental health. The current report examined whether self-compassion had either moderating or mediating effects on the links between dependency and depression in college students. In a cross-sectional study, 85 college students completed measures of dependency, self-compassion, and depressive symptoms. Analyses suggested that self-compassion mediated both the effect of DO on depressive symptoms and the effect of healthy dependency (HD) on lower depressive symptoms; self-compassion did not moderate links between dependency and depressive symptoms. Our exploratory findings suggest that positive self-schema (in the form of self-compassion) may contribute to the downstream mental health effects of both adaptive HD and maladaptive DO.

Relationship between Direct and Relational Bullying and Emotional Well-being among Adolescents: The role of Self-compassion

“…Similar results have been found with samples of adolescents, although literature in this field is scarce and further research with more diverse samples is needed (Bluth et al, 2017). On the other hand, several studies stated a large effect size showing a negative association between self-compassion and anxiety, stress and depression symptomatology in adults (Denckla et al, 2017;MacBeth & Gumley, 2012) and in adolescents (Bluth & Blanton, 2015;Edwards et al, 2014;Marsh et al, 2018).…”

The Importance of Self-Compassion in Terms of Self Psychology

“…For example, an individual who suffers from musculoskeletal pain is more likely to have a lower pain tolerance self-efficacy than those who do not. Self-compassion was shown to be correlated with various task-specific or situational-specific forms of self-efficacy, such as HIV symptom self-efficacy [33] or pain self-efficacy [42]. Research has also evidenced with regression that self-compassion did predict specific forms of self-efficacy, like self-regulatory self-efficacy or pain self-efficacy [42,43].…”

“…While different classes of self-schema-Intermediary beliefs, conditional rules, and core beliefs [29]-are being seen to guide a person's interpretation of experiences and regulate their emotional response, they have been seen to be representable by self-referenced cognitive aspects. Therefore, other than components under the self-concept theory [31,32], it is likely that showing compassion towards oneself also plays a role within the interpretation of experiences, as a result of self-compassion also being used as a form of self-schema [33][34][35]. Additionally, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-compassion are being categorized as three of the self-concept goals in reducing mental disorder [36]; thus, self-compassion should be structured under the self-concept model.…”

An intervention study examining the effectiveness of loving kindness meditation in reducing depressive symptoms: Compassionate coping as a mediator?

“…Given the considerable follow-up times of self-compassion interventions [23,24], one can argue that the state-like effects achieved during interventions turn into trait-like effects that last beyond the end of an intervention. A meta-analysis by MacBeth and Gumley (2012) [5] highlights how trait self-compassion is highly and inversely correlated (-0.52) with depression with later research continuing to support this association [28,29]. Krieger et al (2013) [30] report a difference in trait self-compassion levels between depressed and never-depressed individuals which has since been replicated [31].…”