Self-Compassion and Social Connectedness Buffering Racial Discrimination on Depression Among Asian Americans

This study aimed to examine the personal (i.e., self-compassion) and social (i.e., social connectedness) resources that can buffer individuals’ psychological distress in the face of difficulty based on previous literature on self-compassion and social connectedness.

We used a cross-sectional online survey to examine whether there was a three-way interaction of racial discrimination, three self-compassion components (i.e., self-kindness, mindfulness, and common humanity), and social connectedness on depression among Asian American college students. Participants were 205 Asian Americans from a West Coast public university.

Results supported the moderation hypothesis with social connectedness and self-kindness as moderators. Specifically, at higher social connectedness and higher self-kindness, the association between racial discrimination and depression was not significant. Conversely, at higher social connectedness and lower self-kindness, the association between racial discrimination and depression was significantly positive. Furthermore, at lower social connectedness and higher self-kindness, the association between racial discrimination and depression was significantly positive. However, at lower social connectedness and lower self-kindness, the association between racial discrimination and depression was not significant. The same results applied to the second (i.e., social connectedness and mindfulness as moderators), but not the third (i.e., social connectedness and common humanity as moderators) moderation hypothesis.

Both personal (i.e., self-compassion) and social (i.e., social connectedness) factors work together to buffer the impact of racial discrimination on depression among Asian American college students.