The Link between Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract Mindfulness entails nonjudgmental awareness of the self, including thoughts and feelings. Self-compassion involves kindness towards the self when perceiving personal mistakes or inadequacies and when facing life challenges. Mindfulness can facilitate self-compassion through fostering awareness of thoughts and feelings, including suffering, without reactivity, making self-care more likely. Self-compassion may lead to a sense of emotional safety, which increases the likelihood of awareness of inner experiences, an aspect of mindfulness. Many studies have investigated the association between mindfulness and self-compassion, with different types of samples and methods. The present meta-analytic study consolidated the findings of this research in a sample of 41 samples and a total of 8,235 participants. The weighted effect size across samples of r = .53, CI [.48, .58], p = .0001, indicates that a higher level of mindfulness is associated with greater self-compassion. The association between mindfulness and self-compassion was significant for women and men, across ages, and for different measures of mindfulness and self-compassion. As both mindfulness and self-compassion are linked to beneficial outcomes, such as greater well-being and better mental health, the association between mindfulness and self-compassion suggests that drawing on each to reinforce the other may optimise positive life outcomes.