The novel therapeutic role of self-compassion and self-coldness in bullying perpetration: cultural impact on the mediating role of compassion for others

Abstract Current bullying prevention efforts primarily focus on victims, lacking a more effective upstream approach targeting perpetrators. This study evaluated the potential culturally specific associations of self-compassion and self-coldness with traditional and cyberbullying perpetration, focusing on whether these associations showed indirect effects via compassion for others and coldness for others. In a cross-sectional design, 2313 adolescents (aged 13–17) from Hong Kong ( n = 852) and the United States ( n = 1461) self-reported levels of self-compassion, self-coldness, bullying behaviors, compassion for others, and coldness for others. Moderated mediation analyses assessed whether compassion/coldness for others mediated the associations between self-compassion, self-coldness and bullying perpetration, with culture as a moderator. The indirect effects via compassion for others and coldness for others were significant in the Hong Kong sample but not in the United States sample, indicating moderated mediation by culture. Follow-up path comparisons suggested that cross-culture differences were primarily attributable to the self-to-mediator links, which were significant in Hong Kong but near-zero in the United States, whereas the mediator-to-outcome links were robust and comparable across cultures. This study leads to a significant advancement in understanding the potential of fostering self-compassion and mitigating self-coldness in bullying prevention. Moreover, these findings highlight culturally contingent mechanisms linking self-compassion/self-coldness to bullying perpetration via other-oriented responding, underscoring the potential value of culturally sensitive prevention efforts.