Association of Self-Compassion With Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors and Non-suicidal Self Injury: A Meta-Analysis

Objectives: Self-compassion functions as a psychological buffer in the face of negative life experiences. Considering that suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) are often accompanied by intense negative feelings about the self (e.g., self-loathing, self-isolation), self-compassion may have the potential to alleviate these negative attitudes and feelings toward oneself. This meta-analysis investigated the associations of self-compassion with STBs and NSSI.

Methods: A literature search finalized in August 2020 identified 18 eligible studies (13 STB effect sizes and seven NSSI effect sizes), including 8,058 participants. Two studies were longitudinal studies, and the remainder were cross-sectional studies. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted using CMA 3.0. Subgroup analyses, meta-regression, and publication bias analyses were conducted to probe potential sources of heterogeneity.

Results: With regard to STBs, a moderate effect size was found for self-compassion ( r = −0.34, k = 13). Positively worded subscales exhibited statistically significant effect sizes: self-kindness ( r = −0.21, k = 4), common humanity ( r = −0.20, k = 4), and mindfulness ( r = −0.15, k = 4). For NSSI, a small effect size was found for self-compassion ( r = −0.29, k = 7). There was a large heterogeneity ( I ² = 80.92% for STBs, I ² = 86.25% for NSSI), and publication bias was minimal. Subgroup analysis results showed that sample characteristic was a moderator, such that a larger effect size was witnessed in clinical patients than sexually/racially marginalized individuals, college students, and healthy-functioning community adolescents.

Conclusions: Self-compassion was negatively associated with STBs and NSSI, and the effect size of self-compassion was larger for STBs than NSSI. More evidence is necessary to gauge a clinically significant protective role that self-compassion may play by soliciting results from future longitudinal studies or intervention studies.