Self-compassion matters: The relationships between perceived social support, self-compassion, and subjective well-being among LGB individuals in Turkey.

Abstract

Research on the well-being of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people has predominately focused on Western (-ized) societies where individualism, and not collectivism, is emphasized. In the present study, we utilized a mediator model via Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to examine the relationships between self-compassion (i.e., self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness), perceived social support (i.e., family, friends, and significant others), and subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) in a sample of LGB-identified individuals living in Turkey, a traditionally collectivistic culture (Hofstede, 2001). A sample of 291 LGB individuals (67 lesbian, 128 gay, and 96 bisexual) completed an online survey including the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support Scale, and Self-kindness, Common Humanity, and Mindfulness subscales of the Self-Compassion Scale. The results of SEM for the hypothesized mediator model revealed that self-compassion mediated the relationships between perceived social support from family and significant others and subjective well-being, explaining the 77% of the variance in subjective well-being. Implications for the literature base on LGB well-being are discussed, with a focus on the cross-cultural applications. (PsycINFO Database Record

Perceived Social Support and Life Satisfaction in Infertile Women Undergoing Treatment: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…The finding was consistent with previous findings. For example, selfcompassion mediated the relationship between perceived social support and subjective well-being in LGB individuals and the relationship between perceived social support and subjective happiness in college students (Toplu-Demirtaş et al, 2018;Wilson et al, 2020). This finding implied that as an emotionapproached coping strategy, infertile women's self-compassion may be enhanced by perceived social support, which was thought to be a source of coping assistance (Thoits, 1986).…”

“…A positive correlation between perceived social support and self-compassion was found in college students (Neely et al, 2009;Stallman et al, 2018). In addition, Toplu-Demirtaş et al (2018) found self-compassion mediated the correlation between perceived social support from family and significant others and subjective well-being in LGB individuals, explaining the 77% of the variance in subjective well-being. Similarly, Wilson et al (2020) found the association between perceived social support and subjective happiness, assessed by Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS; Lyubomirsky and Lepper, 1999), was partially accounted by self-compassion in college students.…”

Mediating role of perceived social support on mental health problems in pre-operative patients

“…The data were collected through using a demographic questionnaire and three other scales, which were Urdu translated versions of their original scales including the Self-Compassion Scale, 8 Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support, 9 and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. 10 A demographic form consisting of age, gender, marital status, number of family members, family system, hospital sector, living area, monthly income, and educational level was also used. Consent was taken from every participant and they were given the right to withdraw from the study.…”

Women’s empowerment as self-compassion?: Empirical observations from India

“…Hope and colleagues [29] in their study on University freshmen in Canada found a positive relationship between selfcompassion and autonomy which in turn affected their goal pursuits and overall subjective wellbeing. Similarly, Toplu-Demirtas et al [30] in their research on lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) in Turkey show how self-compassion mediate s relationship between social interaction and wellbeing. Although, it has not been empirically established and perhaps not immediately obvious how women's physical mobility and her participation in local governance bodies are directly associated with self-compassion, it is reasonable to assume that a self-compassionate woman is more aware of her personal environment (through extra-familial social connections/ties and freedom of movement) to make empowering choices for herself; in fact in Neff's original formulation [15], social connectedness and autonomy were important dimensions of self-compassion.…”