Fears of compassion magnify the harmful effects of threat of COVID-19 on mental health and social safeness across 21 countries

• Main Author: Matos, Marcela
• Publication Date: 2021
• Other Authors: McEwan, Kirsten, Kanovský, Martin, Halamová, Júlia, Steindl, Stanley R, Ferreira, Nuno, Fernandes, Mariana Linharelhos, Rijo, Daniel, Asano, Kenichi, Gregório, Sónia, Márquez, Margarita G., Vilas, Sara P., Brito-Pons, Gonzalo, Lucena-Santos, Paola, Oliveira, Margareth da Silva, Souza, Erika Leonardo de, Llobenes, Lorena, Gumiy, Natali, Costa, Maria Ileana, Habib, Noor, Hakem, Reham, Khrad, Hussain, Alzahrani, Ahmad, Cheli, Simone, Petrocchi, Nicola, Tholouli, Elli, Issari, Philia, Simos, Gregoris, Lunding-Gregersen, Vibeke, Elklit, Ask, Kolts, Russell, Kelly, Allison C., Bortolon, Catherine, Delamillieure, Pascal, Paucsik, Marine, Wahl, Julia E, Zieba, Mariusz, Zatorski, Mateusz, Komendziński, Tomasz, Zhang, Shuge, Basran, Jaskaran, Kagialis, Antonios, Kirby, James, Gilbert, Paul
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/95026; https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2601
• topic: COVID-19 pandemic; Fears of compassion; Mental health; Moderator effect; Multinational study; Social safeness

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.