Improvements in Compassion and Fears of Compassion throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multinational Study

Marcela Matos (), Kirsten McEwan, Martin Kanovský, Júlia Halamová, Stanley R. Steindl, Nuno Ferreira, Mariana Linharelhos, Daniel Rijo, Kenichi Asano, Sara P. Vilas, Margarita G. Márquez, Sónia Gregório, Gonzalo Brito-Pons, Paola Lucena-Santos, Margareth da Silva Oliveira, Erika Leonardo de Souza, Lorena Llobenes, Natali Gumiy, Maria Ileana Costa, Noor Habib, Reham Hakem, Hussain Khrad, Ahmad Alzahrani, Simone Cheli, Nicola Petrocchi, Elli Tholouli, Philia Issari, Gregoris Simos, Vibeke Lunding-Gregersen, Ask Elklit, Russell Kolts, Allison C. Kelly, Catherine Bortolon, Pascal Delamillieure, Marine Paucsik, Julia E. Wahl, Mariusz Zieba, Mateusz Zatorski, Tomasz Komendziński, Shuge Zhang, Jaskaran Basran, Antonios Kagialis, James Kirby and Paul Gilbert
Additional contact information
Marcela Matos: University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
Kirsten McEwan: Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1G, UK
Martin Kanovský: Institute of Social Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia
Júlia Halamová: Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia
Stanley R. Steindl: Compassionate Mind Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
Nuno Ferreira: Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus
Mariana Linharelhos: University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
Daniel Rijo: University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
Kenichi Asano: Department of Psychological Counseling, Faculty of Psychology, Mejiro University, Tokyo 161-0032, Japan
Sara P. Vilas: Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, 28670 Madrid, Spain
Margarita G. Márquez: Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, 28670 Madrid, Spain
Sónia Gregório: University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
Gonzalo Brito-Pons: Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile
Paola Lucena-Santos: University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
Margareth da Silva Oliveira: Evaluation and Treatment in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies—Research Group (GAAPCC), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90619-900, Brazil
Erika Leonardo de Souza: Conectta: Mindfulness & Compassion, São Paulo 04038-001, Brazil
Lorena Llobenes: Motivación Compasiva, Buenos Aires C1001, Argentina
Natali Gumiy: Motivación Compasiva, Buenos Aires C1001, Argentina
Maria Ileana Costa: Motivación Compasiva, Buenos Aires C1001, Argentina
Noor Habib: Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah 11564, Saudi Arabia
Reham Hakem: Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah 11564, Saudi Arabia
Hussain Khrad: Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah 11564, Saudi Arabia
Ahmad Alzahrani: Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah 11564, Saudi Arabia
Simone Cheli: School of Human Health Sciences, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
Nicola Petrocchi: Department of Economics and Social Sciences, John Cabot University, 00165 Rome, Italy
Elli Tholouli: Center for Qualitative Research in Psychology and Psychosocial Well-Being, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 157 72 Athens, Greece
Philia Issari: Center for Qualitative Research in Psychology and Psychosocial Well-Being, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 157 72 Athens, Greece
Gregoris Simos: Department of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, 546 36 Thessaloniki, Greece
Vibeke Lunding-Gregersen: Mindwork Psycological Center, 1620 Copenhagen, Denmark
Ask Elklit: Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Russell Kolts: Department of Psychology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA 99004, USA
Allison C. Kelly: Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Catherine Bortolon: Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire de Psychologie: Personnalité, Cognition et Changement Social, Grenoble Alpes University, 38400 Grenoble, France
Pascal Delamillieure: CHU de Caen, Service de Psychiatrie Adulte, 14000 Caen, France
Marine Paucsik: Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire de Psychologie: Personnalité, Cognition et Changement Social, Grenoble Alpes University, 38400 Grenoble, France
Julia E. Wahl: The Mind Institute Poland, 33-332 Warsaw, Poland
Mariusz Zieba: Institute of Psychology, Department of General Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland
Mateusz Zatorski: Institute of Psychology, Department of General Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland
Tomasz Komendziński: Department of Cognitive Science, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 87-100 Torún, Poland
Shuge Zhang: School of Human Sciences, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1G, UK
Jaskaran Basran: Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1G, UK
Antonios Kagialis: Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus
James Kirby: Compassionate Mind Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
Paul Gilbert: Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1G, UK

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: During large-scale disasters, social support, caring behaviours, and compassion are shown to protect against poor mental health outcomes. This multi-national study aimed to assess the fluctuations in compassion over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents (Time 1 n = 4156, Time 2 n = 980, Time 3 n = 825) from 23 countries completed online self-report questionnaires measuring the flows of compassion (i.e., Compassionate Engagement and Action Scales) and fears of compassion toward self and others and from others (i.e., Fears of Compassion Scales) and mental health at three time-points during a 10-month period. The results for the flows of compassion showed that self-compassion increased at Time 3. Compassion for others increased at Time 2 and 3 for the general population, but in contrast, it decreased in health professionals, possibly linked to burnout. Compassion from others did not change in Time 2, but it did increase significantly in Time 3. For fears of compassion, fears of self-compassion reduced over time, fears of compassion for others showed more variation, reducing for the general public but increasing for health professionals, whilst fears of compassion from others did not change over time. Health professionals, those with compassion training, older adults, and women showed greater flows of compassion and lower fears of compassion compared with the general population, those without compassion training, younger adults, and men. These findings highlight that, in a period of shared suffering, people from multiple countries and nationalities show a cumulative improvement in compassion and reduction in fears of compassion, suggesting that, when there is intense suffering, people become more compassionate to self and others and less afraid of, and resistant to, compassion.

Keywords: compassion; fears of compassion; longitudinal; multilevel modelling; multinational study; COVID-19; pandemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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