Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented detrimental impact on mental health in people around the world. It is important therefore to explore factors that may buffer or accentuate the risk of mental health problems in this context. Given that compassion has numerous benefits for mental health, emotion regulation, and social relationships, this study examines the buffering effects of different flows of compassion (for self, for others, from others) against the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on depression, anxiety, and stress, and social safeness. Methods The study was conducted in a sample of 4057 adult participants from the general community population, collected across 21 countries from Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, Asia, and Oceania. Participants completed self-report measures of perceived threat of COVID-19, compassion (for self, for others, from others), depression, anxiety, stress, and social safeness. Results Perceived threat of COVID-19 was associated with higher scores in depression, anxiety, and stress, and lower scores in social safeness. Self-compassion and compassion from others were associated with lower psychological distress and higher social safeness. Compassion for others was associated with lower depressive symptoms. Self-compassion moderated the relationship between perceived threat of COVID-19 on depression, anxiety, and stress, whereas compassion from others moderated the effects of fears of contracting COVID-19 on social safeness. These effects were consistent across all countries. Conclusions Our findings highlight the universal protective role of compassion, in particular self-compassion and compassion from others, in promoting resilience by buffering against the harmful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and social safeness. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-021-01822-2.

Background Historically social connection has been an important way through which humans have coped with large-scale threatening events. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns have deprived people of major sources of social support and coping, with others representing threats. Hence, a major stressor during the pandemic has been a sense of social disconnection and loneliness. This study explores how people’s experience of compassion and feeling socially safe and connected, in contrast to feeling socially disconnected, lonely and fearful of compassion, effects the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on post-traumatic growth and post-traumatic stress. Methods Adult participants from the general population (N = 4057) across 21 countries worldwide, completed self-report measures of social connection (compassion for self, from others, for others; social safeness), social disconnection (fears of compassion for self, from others, for others; loneliness), perceived threat of COVID-19, post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress. Results Perceived threat of COVID-19 predicted increased post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress. Social connection (compassion and social safeness) predicted higher post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress, whereas social disconnection (fears of compassion and loneliness) predicted increased traumatic symptoms only. Social connection heightened the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on post-traumatic growth, while social disconnection weakened this impact. Social disconnection magnified the impact of the perceived threat of COVID-19 on traumatic stress. These effects were consistent across all countries. Conclusions Social connection is key to how people adapt and cope with the worldwide COVID-19 crisis and may facilitate post-traumatic growth in the context of the threat experienced during the pandemic. In contrast, social disconnection increases vulnerability to develop post-traumatic stress in this threatening context. Public health and Government organizations could implement interventions to foster compassion and feelings of social safeness and reduce experiences of social disconnection, thus promoting growth, resilience and mental wellbeing during and following the pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a massive global health crisis with damaging consequences to mental health and social relationships. Exploring factors that may heighten or buffer the risk of mental health problems in this context is thus critical.Whilst compassion may be a protective factor, in contrast fears of compassion increase vulnerability to psychosocial distress and may amplify the impact of the pandemic on mental health. This study explores the magnifying effects of fears of compassion on the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on depression, anxiety and stress, and social safeness.Methods: Adult participants from the general population (N = 4057) were recruited across 21 countries worldwide, and completed self-report measures of perceived threat of COVID-19, fears of compassion (for self, from others, for others), depression, anxiety, stress and social safeness.Results: Perceived threat of COVID-19 predicted increased depression, anxiety and stress. The three flows of fears of compassion predicted higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress and lower social safeness. All fears of compassion moderated (heightened) the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on psychological distress.Only fears of compassion from others moderated the effects of likelihood of contracting COVID-19 on social safeness. These effects were consistent across all countries.Conclusions: Fears of compassion have a universal magnifying effect on the damaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and social safeness. Compassion focused interventions and communications could be implemented to reduce resistances to compassion and promote mental wellbeing during and following the pandemic.

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Resumen: El objetivo de esta revisión sistemática fue analizar las características psicométricas de los instrumentos de medida del reconocimiento y la expresión de emociones. El trabajo se realizó en dos fases. Las categorías empleadas en la primera fase, deductiva, fueron las palabras clave que llevaron a la selección de 721 resúmenes de artículos procedentes de las bases de datos de Scopus y PsycInfo. El proceso selectivo de la segunda fase fue inductivo, utilizando categorías construidas a partir del análisis de los resúmenes de la primera fase. Los instrumentos contenidos en los 36 artículos de investigación seleccionados en esta segunda fase se codificaron en función de la muestra, el tipo de evaluación y el análisis psicomé-trico efectuado en cada caso. Los resultados muestran que la mayor parte de las medidas derivan de un solo test y que no se encuentran instrumentos construidos a partir de métodos modernos como el Modelo de Rasch. Los avances de la Neuropsicología afectiva no se han acompañado del desarrollo de instrumentos estandarizados de evaluación y medida que permitan cuantificar adecuadamente las diferencias individuales. Palabras clave: medición; modelo de Rasch; neuropsicología afectiva; expresión de emociones; reconocimiento de emociones; revisión.Title: A review of emotion recognition and expression measures. Abstract: A systematic review was carried out with the objective of learning the Psychometric properties of measures of emotion recognition and expression. They were selected in two steps: first, a deductive one in which 721 abstracts from Scopus and PsycInfo were analyzed; and second, the inductive one, by using the ad hoc categories from the previous analysis. The instruments from the 36 selected papers were coded by sample, assessment type, and psychometric analyses. Results show that most of the measures come from just one test and that modern test models such as Rasch-based ones are never found. It is concluded that Affective Neuropsychology advances have not been accompanied by the construction of standardized measurement instruments to properly quantify individual differences. Key words: measurement; Rasch model; affective neuropsychology; emotion expression; emotion recognition; review. IntroducciónEl procesamiento de las expresiones emocionales es fundamental para la adaptación psicológica y conductual de los seres humanos; está implicado en aspectos de la esfera funcional del individuo tan relevantes como el aprendizaje o la toma de decisiones (Nakhutina, Borod y Zgaljardic, 2006). Uno de los aspectos clave de la interacción entre las funciones que se consideran cognitivas y las emocionales -los modelos tradicionales las consideran como claramente diferenciadas, aunque la evidencia empírica está diluyendo los lími-tes entre ambas-es que puede proporcionar información sobre posibles marcadores fenotípicos relacionados con ciertos desórdenes psiquiátricos y neuropsicológicos como la esquizofrenia o la demencia tipo Alzheimer . De ahí que, en los últimos años, se haya empezado a p...