Examining the relationship between empathy for others and self-compassion in college students

Abstract

This study examined the correlation between self-compassion and empathy for others in college students in order to better inform clinical work and outreach programming in university counseling centers. Preliminary analyses indicated that gender identity was a confounding variable; therefore, the main analyses were run distinctly for male and female identified participants. There was no important association between self-compassion and empathy for female identified participants. There was an important connection between self-compassion and empathy for others for male identified participants, indicating that higher self-compassion was linked to lower empathy for others. Possible explanations along with recommendations are given.