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Cited by 82COVID-19 and Mental HealthMindfulness and Compassion InterventionsAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

Compassion Protects Mental Health and Social Safeness During the COVID-19 Pandemic Across 21 Countries

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Matos, Marcela, McEwan, Kirsten, Kanovský, Martin, Halamová, Júlia, Steindl, Stanley R., Ferreira, Nuno, Linharelhos, Mariana, Rijo, Daniel +36 more·2022·Mindfulness
DOI 10.1007/s12671-021-01822-2PMC PMC8724602
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Abstract

Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented detrimental impact on mental health in people around the world. It is important therefore to explore factors that may buffer or accentuate the risk of mental health problems in this context. Given that compassion has numerous benefits for mental health, emotion regulation, and social relationships, this study examines the buffering effects of different flows of compassion (for self, for others, from others) against the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on depression, anxiety, and stress, and social safeness. Methods The study was conducted in a sample of 4057 adult participants from the general community population, collected across 21 countries from Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, Asia, and Oceania. Participants completed self-report measures of perceived threat of COVID-19, compassion (for self, for others, from others), depression, anxiety, stress, and social safeness. Results Perceived threat of COVID-19 was associated with higher scores in depression, anxiety, and stress, and lower scores in social safeness. Self-compassion and compassion from others were associated with lower psychological distress and higher social safeness. Compassion for others was associated with lower depressive symptoms. Self-compassion moderated the relationship between perceived threat of COVID-19 on depression, anxiety, and stress, whereas compassion from others moderated the effects of fears of contracting COVID-19 on social safeness. These effects were consistent across all countries. Conclusions Our findings highlight the universal protective role of compassion, in particular self-compassion and compassion from others, in promoting resilience by buffering against the harmful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and social safeness. Supplementary information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-021-01822-2.

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Authors
Matos, M., McEwan, K., Kanovský, M., Halamová, J., Steindl, S. R., Ferreira, N., Linharelhos, M., Rijo, D., Asano, K., Márquez, M. G., Gregório, S., Vilas, S. P., Brito-Pons, G., Lucena-Santos, P., da Silva Oliveira, M., de Souza, E. L., Llobenes, L., Gumiy, N., Costa, M. I., Habib, N., Hakem, R., Khrad, H., Alzahrani, A., Cheli, S., Petrocchi, N., Tholouli, E., Issari, P., Simos, G., Lunding-Gregersen, V., Elklit, A., Kolts, R., Kelly, A. C., Bortolon, C., Delamillieure, P., Paucsik, M., Wahl, J. E., Zieba, M., Zatorski, M., Komendziński, T., Zhang, S., Basran, J., Kagialis, A., Kirby, J., & Gilbert, P.
Affiliations
  • University of Coimbra (PT)
  • University of Derby (GB)
  • Comenius University Bratislava (SK)
  • The University of Queensland (AU)
  • University of Nicosia (CY)
  • Mejiro University (JP)
  • Universidad Europea de Madrid (ES)
  • King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (SA)
  • University of Florence (IT)
  • John Cabot University (IT)
  • National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR)
  • University of Macedonia (GR)
  • University of Southern Denmark (DK)
  • Eastern Washington University (US)
  • University of Waterloo (CA)
  • Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Grenoble (FR)
  • Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen Normandie (FR)
  • Laboratoire Inter-universitaire de Psychologie: Personnalité, Cognition, Changement Social (FR)
  • Uniwersytet SWPS (PL)
  • Nicolaus Copernicus University (PL)
Corresponding author
Matos, Marcela
ORCID
Venue
Mindfulness
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2022-01-04
Volume
13
Issue
4
Pages
863-880
ISSN
  • 1868-8527 (ISSN-L)
  • 1868-8535
DOI
10.1007/s12671-021-01822-2
PMC
PMC8724602
OpenAlex
W4206649248
Cited by
82
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 3
FWCI
15.76
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Mindfulness (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
  • PUCRS Repository (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • ABACUS. Repositorio de Producción Científica (Universidad Europea) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • University of Derby Online Research Archive. (University of Derby) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (UID/PSI/00730/2020, SFRH/BD/130677/2017)
  • Agentúra na Podporu Výskumu a Vývoja (PP-COVID-20-0074)
  • Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SAV (Grant 1/0075/19)
  • Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (435-2017-0062)
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (Scientific Productivity Grant)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Keywords
compassion, self-compassion, compassion for others, COVID-19 pandemic, threat perception, depression, anxiety, stress, social safeness, psychological distress, buffering effect, resilience, cross-cultural comparison

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