Open AccessFamily Strain Predicts Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in Middle-Aged Adults: Hope Mediates and Self-Compassion Moderates the Relation
Author(s) -
Erin G Mistretta,
Mary C. Davis,
Ellen W. Yeung
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of social and clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1943-2771
pISSN - 0736-7236
DOI - 10.1521/jscp.2020.39.01.001
Subject(s) - self compassion , psychology , moderation , depressive symptoms , context (archaeology) , clinical psychology , depression (economics) , mental health , compassion , developmental psychology , psychiatry , mindfulness , social psychology , cognition , paleontology , macroeconomics , political science , law , economics , biology
Interpersonal strain is linked with depressive symptoms in middle-aged adults. One possible mechanism accounting for this relation is a reduction in hope, defined as the belief in one's capacity both to reach and to generate a variety of ways to obtain goals. The strength of the strain-depressive symptoms relation is not uniform across individuals, however, pointing to the likelihood that individual differences in the ability to successfully navigate relationship strain play a role in mitigating its negative effects. One potential moderator of the strain - depressive symptoms relation is self-compassion, which encompasses the capacity to respond to one's own negative thoughts and experiences in a kind and nonjudgmental way. Although theory and empirical evidence suggest that self-compassion is protective against the impact of stress on mental health outcomes, little research has investigated how self-compassion operates in the context of relationship strain. In addition, few studies have examined psychological mechanisms by which self-compassion protects against mental health outcomes, depression in particular. Thus, this study examined 1) the extent to which hope mediates the relation between family strain and depressive symptoms, and 2) whether these indirect effects are conditional on self-compassion in a community sample of middle-aged adults.