Racial Discrimination, Self-compassion, and Mental Health: the Moderating Role of Self-judgment

Racial discrimination can have deleterious effects on the mental health of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals. Understanding mechanisms that contribute to the development of mental health symptoms in BIPOC populations in the context of discrimination is an essential component in treating such concerns within these groups. This study examined whether elements of self-compassion (i.e., self-kindness, mindfulness, common humanity, self-judgment, over-identification, and isolation) buffered against, or exacerbated, negative mental health outcomes in BIPOC college students experiencing racial discrimination.

Participants were 100 BIPOC college students (M_age = 22.07, SD = 5.57, 69.2% female) from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds (1.0% Native American, 32.0% Asian, 37.0% Black, 24.0% Latinx, 4.0% Middle Eastern/North African, 3.0% Multiracial/Multiethnic). A cross-sectional survey was utilized to examine elements of self-compassion as a moderator of the relationship between racial discrimination and symptoms of anxiety and depression and somatic symptoms.

Some, but not all, elements of self-compassion were associated with mental health outcomes. Self-judgment emerged as the only moderator. Specifically, the relationship between the experience of discrimination with both somatic and anxiety symptoms was stronger for individuals who endorsed higher self-judgment.

Findings suggest that self-judgment may play a unique role in the experience of mental health symptoms among BIPOC individuals who face discrimination.