Abstract
Self-compassion is a gentle way of relating to oneself, linked to a host of mental health benefits in non-autistic people. Although many autistic individuals report high anxiety and depression symptoms, no research to-date has examined the self-compassion experiences of autistic individuals and determined if self-compassion is associated with psychopathology. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to address this research gap. The participants (153 autistic and 93 non-autistic adults) completed on online survey and 11 autistic participants were also interviewed. Autistic participants reported significantly lower self-compassion than non-autistic adults, and in both groups, those with higher self-compassion reported higher psychological wellbeing and lower depression symptoms. Demographic predictors of self-compassion were identified. These findings have both clinical and research implications.
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Participant identification numbers, gender identity, and self-compassion score.
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We would like to thank all those who participated in the this study. We would also like to thank Ms. Anna Gould for her support, as an autistic individual with previous experiences of practicing self-compassion.
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Cai, R., Gibbs, V., Love, A. et al. “Self-compassion changed my life”: The self-compassion experiences of autistic and non-autistic adults and its relationship with mental health and psychological wellbeing. J Autism Dev Disord 53, 1066–1081 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05668-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05668-y