Psychological flexibility and self-compassion buffer the impact of shame on depression among adults with physical disabilities

Michael Christopher, Xander Kahle and Kaylia Pham

PLOS Mental Health, 2026, vol. 3, issue 9, 1-8

Abstract: Individuals with physical disabilities experience higher rates of depression relative to the general population. Shame is a central mechanism linking disability status to poor mental health outcomes, including depression. Psychological flexibility and self-compassion have been shown to change one’s relationship to negative self-evaluations such as shame. The goal of this study was to determine if psychological flexibility and self-compassion negatively predict depression and buffer the impact of shame on depression in adults with physical disabilities. Adults with physical disabilities (n = 207) completed self-report measures of psychological flexibility, self-compassion, shame, and depression. Consistent with prediction, a series of multiple regressions indicated that psychological flexibility and self-compassion negatively predicted depression over and beyond shame, and they both mitigated the impact of shame on depression among adults with physical disabilities (all p’s

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pmen00:0000707

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmen.0000707

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