The Correlation And Intervention Study On Self-compassion And Depression Of Graduate Students

Self-compassion is a relatively new field of positive psychology, since the concept was constructed, a large number of studies confirmed its high value in theory and application, there is obvious relationship between it and variety of positive emotions, have an important role to improve the level of people’s mental health and well-being. To verify the relationship between self-compassion and depression, and understand the impact of self-compassion to depression, thus to offer a new way to improve the mental health of graduate students, this study through the revised Chinese version of self-compassion questionnaire SCS and depression self-rating scale SDS investigated graduates’ self-compassion and depression status,characteristics of N university, discussed the relationship between self-compassion and depression, and through the self-compassion group training intervene individual’s self-compassion and depression level. Conclusions are as follows:(1) Investigation of 911 graduate students show that graduate students’ self-compassion average score was 47.24±9.084 points, in the average level. There are significant differences of self-compassion total score on the three variables: rural or towns, family economic status, and whether only children; there are differences in each dimension of self-compassion on grade, professional, rural or towns, family economic status, whether only children and whether have left behind experience;(2) The 911 graduate students’ average standard score of self-rating depression scale is 47.24 ± 9.084 points, the overall depression detection rate for 26.5%, in which mild depression accounted for 19.9%, moderate depression accounted for 6.6%,and no severe depression detected. The graduates’ level of depression was significantly higher than the national norm, significant at level of 0.001.(3) Graduates’ depression was significant negative correlate to self-compassion(r=-0.588, P ? 0.01), and significantly negative correlate to self-kindness, sense of common humanity, mindfulness, and significantly positive correlate to self-criticism,isolation, over-identity;(4) On the basis of Neff’s self-compassion theory and eight-week MSC training program, this study designed and implemented the self-compassion group training.The effect of eight-week self-compassion training on easing and improving graduate students’ depression was good, effectively improved the level of individual’s self-compassion, self-kindness, sense of common humanity, mindfulness were significantly increased, and self-criticism, isolated and over-identity were significantly reduced. Individual’s level of depression was also significantly reduced.