Meta-Analysis of Gender Differences in Self-Compassion

While research suggests strong associations of self-compassion with mental health and well-being, gender norms may hinder the development of self-compassion by women on one hand, and men on the other. This study represents one of the first systematic analyses of potential gender differences in self-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSelf and identity Vol. 14; no. 5; pp. 499 - 520
Main Authors Yarnell, Lisa M., Stafford, Rose E., Neff, Kristin D., Reilly, Erin D., Knox, Marissa C., Mullarkey, Michael
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hove Routledge 03.09.2015
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Age differences
Cultural differences
Ethnic differences
Gender differences
Mental health
Meta-analysis
Norms
Self compassion
Systematic review
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Summary:While research suggests strong associations of self-compassion with mental health and well-being, gender norms may hinder the development of self-compassion by women on one hand, and men on the other. This study represents one of the first systematic analyses of potential gender differences in self-compassion using meta-analytic techniques, including whether such gender differences are moderated by age or ethnic minority status. Fixed-effects models were used to estimate the average effect size (ES) of gender differences in self-compassion scores across 71 journal articles and dissertations providing a total of 88 estimates. Results revealed that males had slightly higher levels of self-compassion than females, with a small ES observed (d = .18). This difference was larger in samples with a higher percentage of ethnic minorities. Researchers and practitioners should take these group differences into account in future studies and interventions focused on self-compassion, while not overemphasizing gender differences in self-compassion as being large in size.
ISSN:1529-8868
1529-8876
DOI:10.1080/15298868.2015.1029966