Self-Compassion as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Racial Discrimination, Internalised Racism & Depression in Black Adults in the UK

Abstract

Emerging research suggests that both perceptions of racial discrimination and internalised racism (i.e., the endorsement of negative stereotypes of one’s racial group) are associated with poor mental health and increased risk for depression in Black adults. Although high levels of self-compassion have been shown to reduce risk for depression in non-clinical samples, there is limited research on the role of self-compassion in protecting against the risk of depression associated with racial discrimination and internalised racism, particularly among Black adults. Five hundred and twenty-four Black adults (M = 30.13 years, 65.6% female) completed measures assessing racial discrimination, internalised racism, depressive symptoms, and trait self-compassion. Racial discrimination was moderately, positively correlated with depression symptoms. Internalised racism was strongly, positively correlated with depression symptoms. Self-compassion and depression were strongly, negatively correlated. Internalised racism significantly mediated the relationship between racial discrimination and depression. Self-compassion significantly moderated the relationship between internalised racism and depression, although did not moderate the relationship between racial discrimination and depression. The findings provide support for the buffering effect of self-compassion on depression symptoms associated with internalised racism. This suggests that increasing self-compassion may be an effective individual-level wellness strategy to include in interventions targeting improvement in depression symptoms and internalised racism for Black adults.