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Linking Self-Compassion and Prosocial Behavior in Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Relatedness and Trust

Author

Listed:
  • Ying Yang

    (East China Normal University)

  • Zhen Guo

    (Beijing Normal University)

  • Yu Kou

    (Beijing Normal University)

  • Ben Liu

    (MiZhi Middle School of Shaanxi Province)

Abstract

Self-compassion involves treating oneself with kindness rather than harsh judgement, viewing imperfection as an inherent part of shared human experience rather than seeing them as isolating, and being mindful of painful feelings rather than over-identifying with them. Abundant evidence has identified the adaptive role of self-compassion on multiple intrapersonal outcomes, such as mental health, emotional well-being and improvement motivation. However, relatively few is known about self-compassion’s interpersonal/social benefits, especially in adolescents. The present study examined the relationships between self-compassion, satisfaction of relatedness, general trust, and prosocial behavior in a relatively large Chinese high school adolescent sample (N = 3238, 47.8% boys; Mage = 15.66 years, SD = 0.80). We observed that self-compassion was positively associated with adolescents’ prosocial behavior, and that relatedness and trust mediated the positive association. Moreover, we found that boys maintained a slightly higher level of self-compassion than girls, and multi-group analysis showed that the relationship between self-compassion and trust was also slightly greater in boys than girls. The present study sheds light on how self-compassion is associated with positive social behavior in adolescents. We suggest that self-compassion intervention could be adapted and implemented during this critical developmental period. More research is encouraged to further discover the adaptive functions of self-compassion in social context.

Suggested Citation

  • Ying Yang & Zhen Guo & Yu Kou & Ben Liu, 2019. "Linking Self-Compassion and Prosocial Behavior in Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Relatedness and Trust," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 12(6), pages 2035-2049, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:chinre:v:12:y:2019:i:6:d:10.1007_s12187-019-9623-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s12187-019-9623-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Essie Sutton & Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl & Amery D. Wu & Molly Stewart Lawlor, 2018. "Evaluating the Reliability and Validity of the Self-Compassion Scale Short Form Adapted for Children Ages 8–12," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(4), pages 1217-1236, August.
    2. Ying Yang & Peipei Li & Yu Kou, 2017. "Orientations to Happiness and Subjective Well-Being in Chinese Adolescents," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 10(4), pages 881-897, December.
    3. Sturgis, Patrick & Patulny, Roger & Allum, Nick & Buscha, Franz, 2012. "Social connectedness and generalized trust: a longitudinal perspective," ISER Working Paper Series 2012-19, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    4. Ying Yang & Peipei Li & Xinyuan Fu & Yu Kou, 2017. "Orientations to Happiness and Subjective Well-Being in Chinese Adolescents: The Roles of Prosocial Behavior and Internet Addictive Behavior," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 1747-1762, December.
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    1. Shuge Zhang & Clare Roscoe & Andy Pringle, 2023. "Self-Compassion and Physical Activity: The Underpinning Role of Psychological Distress and Barrier Self-Efficacy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-13, January.

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