Bidirectional link uncovered between self-compassion and psychological richness

A 3-month longitudinal study in China found that self-compassion is associated with psychological richness. This relationship may be bidirectional, with the two traits reinforcing each other. The research was published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-being.

Self-compassion is the practice of treating oneself with kindness, understanding, and support during times of failure or distress. It involves being mindful of one’s suffering, recognizing that imperfection is part of the shared human experience, and avoiding harsh self-criticism. Research shows that self-compassion is linked to greater emotional resilience, lower levels of anxiety and depression, and improved well-being. It can be cultivated through mindfulness practices and therapeutic interventions.

Psychological richness refers to a dimension of well-being characterized by having varied, interesting, and perspective-changing experiences. Unlike happiness or meaning, psychological richness emphasizes curiosity, novelty, and complexity in life. People with psychologically rich lives tend to travel, seek intellectual challenges, and pursue situations that broaden their worldview. This concept suggests that even difficult or disruptive experiences can contribute to a fulfilling life if they lead to growth and insight.

Study author Yuening Liu and her colleagues sought to investigate the nature and direction of the relationship between self-compassion and psychological richness in a group of Chinese college students. In other words, they wanted to determine whether self-compassion increases psychological richness or whether psychological richness increases self-compassion. They note that studying this group is particularly important, as previous research suggests that college students may have lower psychological richness than the general population in China.

The study included 237 college students recruited through advertisements at a university in China. Their average age was 21 years, and 215 of them (over 90%) were women.

Participants completed a survey that assessed self-compassion (using a shortened version of the Self-Compassion Scale) and psychological richness (using the Psychological Richness Questionnaire). Three months later, they completed the same survey again.

Results showed that psychological richness and self-compassion were positively associated—both at the same time point and across time. That is, higher self-compassion at the first time point predicted greater psychological richness three months later, and higher psychological richness also predicted greater self-compassion over time.

Both self-compassion and psychological richness were associated with their own values three months later, though this association was stronger for psychological richness. This suggests that psychological richness may be more stable over time than self-compassion.

The analysis of cross-lagged associations did not clearly indicate that one trait was the sole cause of the other. Instead, the findings support a bidirectional relationship—self-compassion may promote future psychological richness, and psychological richness may, in turn, promote future self-compassion.

“Our findings suggest that over time, self-compassion predicts psychological richness, and psychological richness predicts self-compassion, which supports the bidirectional relationship between self-compassion and psychological richness in Chinese college students,” the study authors concluded.

The study sheds light on the interplay between psychological richness and self-compassion. However, it is worth noting that all participants were Chinese college students, and over 90% were women. Results may not generalize to men or other demographic groups.

The paper, “Bidirectional relationship between self-compassion and psychological richness: A two-wave longitudinal study,” was authored by Yuening Liu, Xiaoni Yang, Yifan Liu, Cangpi Wei, Jingjing Zhao, and Feng Kong.