Self-Compassion during COVID-19 in Non-WEIRD Countries: A Narrative Review

Kotera, Yasuhiro; Kirkman, Ann; Beaumont, Julie; Komorowska, Magdalena A.; Such, Elizabeth; Kaneda, Yudai; Rushforth, Annabel

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted people’s mental health negatively worldwide, including in non-WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic) countries. Self-compassion, kindness and understanding towards oneself in difficult times have received increasing attention in the field of mental health. Self-compassion is strongly associated with good mental health in various populations. This narrative review aimed to synthesise the evidence on self-compassion and mental health in non-WEIRD countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. MEDLINE and PsycINFO were searched for empirical studies. Self-compassion was consistently associated with positive mental health in non-WEIRD countries too. However, how, and to what degree, each component of self-compassion impacts mental health remains to be evaluated across different cultures. Future research such as multi-national intervention studies, or component network meta-analysis, is needed to advance our understanding of how self-compassion improves mental health in different populations.

Citation

Kotera, Y., Kirkman, A., Beaumont, J., Komorowska, M. A., Such, E., Kaneda, Y., & Rushforth, A. (2023). Self-Compassion during COVID-19 in Non-WEIRD Countries: A Narrative Review. Healthcare, 11(14), Article 2016. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11142016

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 10, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jul 13, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-07
• Deposit Date: Jul 24, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 24, 2023
• Journal: Healthcare
• Electronic ISSN: 2227-9032
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 14
• Article Number: 2016
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11142016
• Keywords: narrative review; non-WEIRD countries; self-compassion; COVID-19; mental health; WEIRD countries; cross-culture; self-compassion
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/23220350
• Publisher URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/14/2016