The holistic view of compassion: A meta-analysis on the association of self-compassion, other-compassion, well-being and psychological distress.

While ample evidence has demonstrated the beneficial effects of self-compassion and other-compassion on the promotion of well-being and reduction of psychological distress independently, the effects of their co-occurrence have been less examined. By employing a three-level meta-analysis, the present study synthesized 193 studies across 31 cultural contexts. Results showed that the effect size of the association between self-compassion and other-compassion was small (r = .19), and that the cultural values of collectivism-individualism moderated the association, with stronger effects shown in cultures with higher collectivistic orientation. Additionally, self-compassion and other-compassion showed a stronger effect size on mental well-being when there was a higher congruence (higher correlation) between self-compassion and other-compassion. Other-compassion also showed a stronger effect size on psychological distress when congruence between self-compassion and other-compassion was high. These findings underscore the dual importance of cultivating both self- and other-compassion to maximize their effects on the enhancement of mental well-being and the alleviation of psychological distress.