A Narrative Review of Compassion Focused Therapy on Positive Mental Health Outcomes.

Background: Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) has been attracting attention in mental health practice and research. CFT is effective in reducing a variety of negative mental health symptoms. Positive mental health (PMH) focuses on an individual's functioning, quality of life, and well-being, aiming to achieve fulfilment.

Differences in Compassion, Well-being, and Social Anxiety between Japan and the USA.

Research has shown that self-compassion can improve individual well-being in many cultures; however, little research has examined cultural differences regarding compassion for others and individual well-being. Cross-cultural research has indicated that interdependent happiness and (TKS) (other-focused social anxiety) are aspects of well-being and psychopathology, respectively, related to interdependent (i.e.

Examining the factor structure of the Self-Compassion Scale in 20 diverse samples: Support for use of a total score and six subscale scores.

This study examined the factor structure of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) using secondary data drawn from 20 samples (N = 11,685)-7 English and 13 non-English-including 10 community, 6 student, 1 mixed community/student, 1 meditator, and 2 clinical samples. Self-compassion is theorized to represent a system with 6 constituent components: self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness and reduced self-judgment, isolation and overidentification. There has been controversy as to whether a total score on the SCS or if separate scores representing compassionate versus uncompassionate self-responding should be used.

Effects of compassionate thinking on negative emotions.

The present study compared the effect of compassionate thinking with other methods traditionally used in cognitive behavioural therapy (cognitive reappraisal, responsibility reattribution, and self-deflection). An instructional manipulation was used, and 207 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of these thinking styles or a control condition. The results revealed that participants who engaged in compassionate thinking and cognitive reappraisal reported significantly lower levels of negative emotions compared to those in the responsibility reattribution and control conditions.

Loving-Kindness Meditation to Target Affect in Mood Disorders: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

Conventional treatments for mood disorders primarily focus on reducing negative affect, but little on enhancing positive affect. Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) is a traditional meditation practice directly oriented toward enhancing unconditional and positive emotional states of kindness towards oneself and others. We report here two independent and uncontrolled studies carried out at different centers, one in Boston, USA (n = 10), and one in Frankfurt, Germany (n = 8), to examine the potential therapeutic utility of a brief LKM group intervention for symptoms of dysthymia and depression.

Cognitions as mediators in the relationship between self-compassion and affect.

Previous studies suggest that self-compassion is related to numerous facets of mental health, but the role of cognitions in this relationship remains unknown. To examine the mediating role of cognitions in the relationship between self-compassion and anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction when controlling for self-esteem in Japanese people, we conducted two studies. Study 1 ( = 231) examined the relationship between self-compassion and affect by modeling negative automatic thoughts as a mediator; Study 2 ( = 233) tested whether positive and negative automatic thoughts meditate this relationship.

[Development and validation of the Japanese version of the Self-Compassion Scale].

A Japanese version of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-J) was developed. In Survey 1, confirmatory factor analysis of data from 366 participants indicated that the SCS-J had an acceptable fit to the model, as well as good internal consistency, similar to the original. In Survey 2, a test-retest correlation of the SCS-J for 101 participants indicated good reliability for the scale.

[Revised generative concern scale and generative behavior checklist (GCS-R, GBC-R): scale reconstruction, reliability, and validity].

The generative concern scale (GCS) and the generative behavior checklist (GBC) based on the multifaceted model of generativity (McAdams & de St. Aubin, 1992) were reconstructed based on item analysis in preliminary research. The reconstructed scales were administered to 996 adults.

[Guilt, shame/embarrassment, and empathy].

This study examined the relationship between empathic responsiveness and the proneness to 'zaiakukan' (guilt) and 'shuchishin' (shame and embarrassment). Two hundred and thirty five Japanese undergraduates completed a questionnaire of Situational Guilt Inventory (Arimitsu, 2002), Situational Shyness Questionnaire (Narita, Terasaki, & Niihama, 1990), and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1983). As predicted, other-oriented empathic responsiveness, which measured perspective taking and empathetic concern, had a positive correlation with zaiakukan proneness, with shame and embarrassment controlled.

[Structure of guilt eliciting situations in Japanese adolescents].

The aim of the present study was to specify guilt eliciting situations for Japanese adolescents, and examine the relationship between guilt-proneness in the situations and personality traits. With an open-ended questionnaire, 315 guilt experiences were collected and categorized into 37 situations. Situational Guilt Inventory (SGI) for the 37 was developed and administered to 500 Japanese adolescents.

[Examing varieties, the factor structure, and differentiations of the coping strategies of "agari" (stage fright) in its eliciting situations].

The present study reports coping strategies in 'agari' eliciting situations. 'Agari' is a Japanese noun (the verb form is 'agaru'), referring to broad experiences including 'stage-fright', 'choking under pressure' and 'social anxiety'. Based upon the self-reports of 426 subjects, a 84-item questionnaire on the coping strategies for 'agari' was constructed.