Self-compassion in the face of perceived discrimination: Associations with responses of resistance to discrimination and well-being.

The perception of being discriminated against may have deleterious effects on human well-being. Far from being passive, individuals from various minority groups react to discrimination by deploying response strategies of resistance in order to protect themselves from the detrimental effects of perceived discrimination. Self-compassion has been recently emerged as an important individual disposition with potential protective effects against the adverse consequences of perceived discrimination. Yet, what awaits further specification is the way in which self-compassion influences the relationships that perceived discrimination has with resistance responses to discrimination and well-being. In an effort to address this literature gap, the present study aims to examine the relationship that perceived discrimination has with both resistance responses to discrimination and well-being, by also providing a further analysis of the potential moderator role of self-compassion and its specific components. Data collected by using a convenience sample of 387 individuals belonging to various minority groups that were invited to complete an online survey measuring individual levels of self-compassion, perceived discrimination, resistance responses and subjective, affective as well as eudaimonic well-being. Correlation analysis revealed that perceived discrimination is negatively associated with well-being and positively associated with resistance responses to discrimination. Furthermore, moderation analyses showed that only one of the self-compassion components, namely self-kindness, seems to be moderator by strengthening the positive relationship between perceived discrimination and resistance responses to discrimination. Overall, the results of the present study provide initial evidence that higher levels of self-kindness may account for higher levels of resistance responses to discrimination in the face of one’s experiences of perceived discrimination.