Personality and Individual Differences 101 (2016) 288–292

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Personality and Individual Differences

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid

Self-compassion and psychological well-being among adolescents in

Hong Kong: Exploring gender differences
Xiaoyan Sun ⁎, David W. Chan, Lai-kwan Chan
Program for the Gifted and Talented, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The present study examined the relationship between self-compassion components and psychological well-
Received 3 March 2016 being (PWB) in a group of Hong Kong adolescents (aged 12 to 16, N = 277). In general, girls held overall higher
Received in revised form 1 June 2016 PWB than boys. Except for autonomy and self-acceptance, girls reported higher scores on other dimensions of
Accepted 5 June 2016
PWB. In addition, girls and boys shared similar profiles of self-compassion components, with boys manifesting
Available online xxxx
higher isolation than girls. More importantly, self-compassion components facilitated PWB following different
Keywords:
pathways for boys and girls. Boys benefited maximally from mindfulness, which revealed significant positive ef-
Self-compassion fects on their autonomy, purpose in life, environmental mastery, and personal growth. Girls benefited most from
Psychological well-being common humanity, which had positive effects on their autonomy, environmental mastery, positive relations
Adolescents with others and personal growth. These findings extended our understanding of self-compassion in terms of
Chinese culture the downstream effects of its individual components, and implicated the importance of integrating gender spec-
ificity into self-compassion intervention programs.
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Ryff's psychological well-being (Ryff, 1989) is a framework devel-

oped to investigate individuals' eudaimonic well-being. Following the
Recently there have been increased calls to apply positive psycholo- eudaimonic tradition, psychological well-being identifies six dimen-
gy in schools and youth-oriented settings (Clonan, Chafouleas, sions, namely, autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth,
McDougal, & Riley-Tillman, 2004). On the one hand, teaching positive positive relation with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance, to rep-
psychology concepts to young people can equip them with skills and resent what it means to be psychologically flourishing at one's maxi-
knowledge that may have a lasting positive impact on their lives. On mum potential. From those specific components, we can see that
the other hand, positive psychology has made important progress in Ryff's framework, differing from other hedonic well-being indicators,
the investigation of strengths, well-being, and happiness (Diener, takes personal development and self-realization as the fundamental el-
Lucas, & Scollon, 2006) with adults. It is a time to extend application ements in defining well-being. This framework is thus suitable for in-
of such knowledge to adolescents. Especially in Hong Kong, research vestigating adolescents' positive functioning, since one of the most
with adolescents showed pronounced unbalance. Vast majority of re- important themes at this stage is personal growth. Moreover, psycho-
search has focused on psychopathology such as suicidal ideation (Lam logical well-being has also been found to be positively related to many
et al., 2004), there lacks research on well-being and its contributory fac- other facets of individual functioning such as biological health and he-
tors. Considering the absence of malfunction does not necessarily donic well-being, and negatively to maladaptive functioning (Ryff &
equate with psychological flourish (Keyes, 2009), our current research Singer, 1996). It is thus important to identify factors contributing to ad-
aimed to directly investigate adolescents' well-being from perspectives olescents' psychological well-being.
of positive psychology and throw light on the design and implementa- However, adolescence is a stage during which specific risk factors for
tion of programs promoting adolescents' well-being in Hong Kong. To psychological well-being may emerge. Notably, cognitive and socio-
this end, we adopted Ryff's (1989) psychological well-being (PWB) emotional developments could promote adolescents to relate to them-
and Neff's (2003a, 2003b) self-compassion, investigating how self-com- selves and the world in increasingly complex and sophisticated ways.
passion, as character strength, contributed to different aspects of PWB. This change makes them become self-conscious, especially of their suc-
cesses and setbacks (e.g., Rankin, Lane, Gibbons, & Gerrard, 2004), and
tend to incorporate failures into their self-appraisals, resulting in self-
criticism and exaggeration of their feelings (Neff, 2009). These negative
⁎ Corresponding author. orientations may impair adolescents' well-being to a large extent. As
E-mail address: [email protected] (X. Sun). such, contributing factors that are most predictive of psychological

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.06.011
0191-8869/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 X. Sun et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 101 (2016) 288–292 289

well-being may be those that can effectively help adolescents buffer their self-regulatory processes. Hence, self-judgment, rather than
against those negative tendencies. This is why we specify how self-com- being negative to self-kindness, is expected to be a positive factor for
passion facilitated adolescents' psychological well-being in our study. males in Asia.
Self-compassion is defined as the ability to turn compassion inward We brought together psychological well-being and self-compassion
and hold one's feelings of suffering with a sense of warmth, connection as a way of understanding adolescents' positive functioning. We expect-
and concern (Neff, 2003a). In detail, self-compassion is comprised of ed high levels of common humanity and self-judgment for girls and
self-kindness, mindfulness, and common humanity. Self-kindness refers boys respectively under the Asian cultural setting. With the notion
to offering oneself warmth and nonjudgmental understanding. Com- that socio-cultural contexts influence differentially the specific facets
mon humanity refers to recognizing that imperfections and adversities of self-compassion, we used subscale scores, instead of merging them
are unavoidable parts of the shared human experience. Mindfulness re- into one comprehensive score. Conducting separate analyses for girls
fers to taking a balanced approach to, instead of suppressing or exagger- and boys, we aimed to delineate gender-differentiated pathways from
ating, painful feelings. In developing a measurement tool, Neff (2003b) self-compassion to psychological well-being: while self-kindness and
also introduced self-judgment, isolation and over-identification to as- common humanity may be most relevant to girls, self-judgment may
sess these three components, resulting in the Self-Compassion Scale appear more prominent for boys.
(SCS) consisting of six subscales.
Conceptually, self-compassionate individuals, holding health atti- 2. Method
tude toward selves, should be less likely to develop those negative ori-
entations. Empirically, self-compassion can prevent individuals from 2.1. Participants and procedures
pathological symptoms such as anxiety and depression (e.g., Pauley &
McPherson, 2010). Besides, self-compassion benefited various aspects A total of 277 adolescents attending secondary school voluntarily
of positive functioning, serving as strong predictors of hedonic forms participated in this study. These students were aged 12 to 16 (M =
of well-being characterized by subjective happiness (Hollis-Walker & 14.23, SD = 1.35, Mode of age is 14.00). Among them, 144 (52.0%)
Colosimo, 2011; Neff, Kirkpatrick, & Rude, 2007), positive affect (Neff were boys. Participants completed the questionnaires anonymously in
& Vonk, 2009) and life satisfaction (Allen & Leary, 2010). Though the classroom environment. Written informed consent was obtained
these findings were primarily obtained with adults, there was at least from all participants and their guardians prior to the assessment
one previous study that reported positive effects of self-compassion session.
on hedonic forms of well-being among adolescents (e.g., Neff &
McGehee, 2010). Based on these evidences and the fact that psycholog- 2.2. Measures
ical well-being is not completely independent of hedonic well-being
(Ryan & Deci, 2000), positive association can be expected between ado- 2.2.1. Self-Compassion Scale (SCS)
lescents' self-compassion and psychological well-being. Participants' self-compassion was assessed by the Self-Compassion
It is still less straightforward to see whether boys and girls equally Scale (SCS; Neff, 2003b) consisting of six subscales: Self-Kindness (5
benefit from being self-compassionate, since previous research obtain- items; e.g., “I try to be understanding and patient towards those aspects
ed mixed results regarding gender differences in self-compassion. of my personality I don't like”), Self-Judgment (5 items; e.g., “I'm
While some found females reported lower self-compassion than males disapproving and judgmental about my own flaws and inadequacies”),
(Neff, 2003a; Neff & McGehee, 2010), others did not obtain significant Common Humanity (4 items; e.g., “I try to see my failings as part of the
results (Neff, Pisitsungkagarn, & Hsieh, 2008; Yang, 2016). Because of human condition”), Isolation (4 items; e.g., “When I think about my in-
the application of comprehensive score rather than subscale scores of adequacies it tends to make me feel more separate and cut off from the
Self-Compassion Scale in those studies, it is hard to locate the sources rest of the world”), Mindfulness (4 items; e.g., “When something painful
for such disparity (Yarnell et al., 2015). Yet one potential factor leading happens I try to take a balanced view of the situation”), and Over-Iden-
to the inconsistent findings may be gender-specific socialization, which tification (4 items; e.g., “When I'm feeling down I tend to obsess and fix-
exerts opposite effects on different dimensions of self-compassion. For ate on everything that's wrong”). Neff (2003b) reported sound
example, the socialization girls experience emphasizes self-sacrifice to psychometric properties of the scale (αs for six subscales from 0.75 to
satisfy the needs of others over their own, which may impair girls' abil- 0.81) and adequate fit for a six-factor model. In the current study, we re-
ity in treating themselves with self-kindness and thus result in low level ferred to a Chinese version adapted to college students in Hong Kong by
of self-compassion. Meanwhile, socialization for girls places importance Wong and Mak (2013) and slightly revised the wordings to ensure the
on development of tender qualities such as tranquilizing and smoothing statements are comprehensible to adolescents. Our revised SCS has
(Raffaelli & Ontai, 2004), which can be readily employed by girls in demonstrated good internal reliabilities in the six subscales (αs from
experiencing sufferings and thus increase their self-compassion. 0.66 to 0.78; see Table 1 for details). In completing SCS, participants
The gender issue may become more complicated under a non-west- were required to indicate to what extent they agree with 26 statements
ern cultural context. In particular, high level of interdependent self-con- on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always).
strual (Kitayama, Markus, Matsumoto, & Norasakkunkit, 1997) in
Eastern culture may have differential implications for females and 2.2.2. Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS)
males in terms of the relationships between self-compassion compo- A 24-item Chinese version Psychological Well-Being Scale was ap-
nents and psychological well-being. For one thing, such self-view im- plied in the current study. This brief PWBS has been found to be valid
plies great importance of human interconnectedness (Kitayama & and reliable in assessing adolescents' psychological well-being in Hong
Markus, 2000), which may encourage common humanity. Being more Kong (Chan, Chan, & Sun, 2015). Each of the six dimensions contained
aware of and affected by interpersonal processes (Acitelli, 1992), fe- 4 items, Autonomy (e.g., “My decisions are not usually influenced by
males may benefit more from high level of common humanity in the so- what everyone else is doing”), Environmental Mastery (e.g., “In general,
cial context. In addition, high interdependent self-construal may I feel I can manage the situation in which I live”), Personal Growth (e.g.,
promote social conformity, requiring harsh self-regulatory strategies “I think it is important to have new experiences that challenge how you
(Kitayama et al., 1997). Self-criticism, which enables clear awareness think about yourself and the world”), Positive Relations with Others
of one's deficits and thus facilitates self-improvement efforts (e.g., (e.g., “Most people see me as loving and affectionate”), Purpose in Life
Heine, 2003), may become a more adaptive factor for males, since (e.g., “I have a sense of direction and purpose in life”), and Self-Accep-
they are more dominant than women (Suh, Moskowitz, Fournier, & tance (e.g., “When I look at the story of my life, I am pleased with how
Zuroff, 2004) and may be more inclined to integrate self-criticism into things have turned out”). Good internal reliabilities for the six subscales
290 X. Sun et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 101 (2016) 288–292

Table 1
Correlations of subscales of Self-Compassion (SC) and subscales of Psychological Well-Being (PWB) (n = 277).

Inter-correlation between six components of SC

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

1. Self-Kindness –
2. Self-Judgment 0.07 –
3. Common Humanity 0.46⁎⁎⁎ 0.36⁎⁎⁎ –
4. Isolation −0.20⁎⁎ 0.39⁎⁎⁎ −0.001 –
5. Mindfulness 0.61⁎⁎⁎ 0.37⁎⁎⁎ 0.58⁎⁎⁎ −0.13⁎ –
6. Over-Identification −0.23⁎⁎⁎ 0.48⁎⁎⁎ −0.003 0.65⁎⁎⁎ −0.15⁎⁎ –

Correlations between SC and PWB Inter-correlation between six dimensions of PWB

7. Autonomy 0.30⁎⁎⁎ 0.18⁎⁎ 0.29⁎⁎⁎ −0.15⁎ 0.42⁎⁎⁎ −0.08 –
8. Environmental Mastery 0.38⁎⁎⁎ 0.15⁎⁎ 0.34⁎⁎⁎ −0.25⁎⁎⁎ 0.43⁎⁎⁎ −0.19⁎⁎ 0.65⁎⁎⁎ –
9. Personal Growth 0.33⁎⁎⁎ 0.21⁎⁎ 0.38⁎⁎⁎ −0.16⁎⁎ 0.44⁎⁎⁎ −0.11 0.50⁎⁎⁎ 0.64⁎⁎⁎ –
10. Positive Relation with Others 0.32⁎⁎⁎ 0.10 0.29⁎⁎⁎ −0.24⁎⁎⁎ 0.34⁎⁎⁎ −0.18⁎⁎ 0.44⁎⁎⁎ 0.63⁎⁎⁎ 0.57⁎⁎⁎ –
11. Purpose in Life 0.30⁎⁎⁎ 0.21⁎⁎ 0.28⁎⁎⁎ −0.16⁎⁎ 0.40⁎⁎⁎ −0.08 0.55⁎⁎⁎ 0.68⁎⁎⁎ 0.64⁎⁎⁎ 0.68⁎⁎⁎ –
12. Self-Acceptance 0.51⁎⁎⁎ 0.07 0.39⁎⁎⁎ −0.31⁎⁎⁎ 0.45⁎⁎⁎ −0.24⁎⁎⁎ 0.59⁎⁎⁎ 0.73⁎⁎⁎ 0.63⁎⁎⁎ 0.62⁎⁎⁎ 0.63⁎⁎⁎ –
13. Overall PWB score 0.43⁎⁎⁎ 0.19⁎⁎ 0.40⁎⁎⁎ 0.26⁎⁎⁎ 0.50⁎⁎⁎ −0.18⁎⁎ 0.76⁎⁎⁎ 0.88⁎⁎⁎ 0.79⁎⁎⁎ 0.80⁎⁎⁎ 0.86⁎⁎⁎ 0.85⁎⁎⁎ –
α 0.78 0.66 0.66 0.78 0.70 0.66 0.74 0.84 0.75 0.72 0.85 0.75 –
M 3.26 3.00 3.43 2.74 3.50 2.85 3.72 3.85 4.30 3.78 3.94 3.91 3.92
SD 0.78 0.65 0.82 0.93 0.76 0.81 0.79 0.77 0.61 0.77 0.87 0.74 0.63

Note.
⁎ p b 0.05.
⁎⁎ p b 0.01.
⁎⁎⁎ p b 0.001.

were also reported in this study (αs from 0.72 to 0.85; see Table 1 for de- were considered to attain acceptable fit to the data at values of ≤0.08
tails). In completing PWBS, participants were asked to indicate whether for the SRMR and the RMSEA (Browne & Cudeck, 1993).
each of the 24 statements describes them accurately along a 5-point A six-factor model of self-compassion received acceptable model fit,
scale with response options ranging from 1 (least like me) to 5 (most χ2 = 751.63 , df = 284 , p b . 001 , CFI = . 80 , RMSEA = . 08, 90% CI [0.07;
like me). 0.08], SRMR = 0.08. For comparison, we also tested three alternative
models that were mentioned in previous studies (e.g. Neff, 2003b,
2.3. Overview of analyses Wong & Mak, 2013), each of which obtained inadequate fit. PWBS
corresponded to six-factor model: χ2 = 601.54 , df =
We first conducted confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) to ensure fac- 237 , p b . 001 , CFI = . 89 , RMSEA = . 08, 90% CI [0.07; 0.08], SRMR =
torial validity of SCS and PWBS. Then, descriptive analyses and t-tests 0.05. Detailed results are summarized in Table 2.
were carried out to examine gender differences in different components
of self-compassion and psychological well-being. Finally, we conducted 3.2. Gender differences in self-compassion and psychological well-being
separate simple regressions for girls and boys. Six self-compassion com-
ponents were included simultaneously as predictors and one dimension From results summarized in Table 3, boys (M = 2.86, SD = 0.91) re-
of psychological well-being was included as the outcome. ported higher isolation than girls (M = 2.60, SD = 0.93), t = 2.403, p =
0.017. Boys and girls responded similarly to other self-compassion com-
3. Results ponents. There were significant gender variations in overall psycholog-
ical well-being. Specific to individual psychological well-being
3.1. Factorial validity of self-compassion and psychological well-being components, except for autonomy and self-acceptance, girls scored con-
sistently higher than boys on all other facets of psychological well-
To begin with, we validated the factorial structures of self-compas- being. Compared to boys, girls demonstrated higher endorsements for
sion and psychological well-being. All CFA analyses were conducted environmental mastery, Mboy = 3.75, SDboy = 0.81, Mgirl = 3.95, SDgirl =
on Mplus 6.1 (Muthén & Muthén, 2010). To determine model fit, we 0.72, t = − 2.174, p = 0.031, personal growth, Mboy = 4.22, SDboy =
followed the recommendation by Kline (2011) and included the chi- 0.67, Mgirl = 4.38, SDgirl = 0.52, t = −2.099, p = 0.037, positive rela-
square test, the CFI (comparative fit index), the RMSEA (root mean tions with others, Mboy = 3.61, SDboy = 0.82, Mgirl = 3.96, SDgirl =
square error of approximation) paired with its 90% CI (confidence inter- 0.68, t = −3.928, p b 0.001, and purpose in life Mboy = 3.77, SDboy =
val), and the SRMR (standardized root mean square residual). Models 0.94, Mgirl = 4.12, SDgirl = 0.75, t = −3.402, p = 0.001.

Table 2
Fit indices of confirmatory factor analysis for Self-Compassion Scale and Psychological Well-Being Scale.

Model χ2 df RMSEA [90% CI] CFI SRMR Δχ2 Δdf p

Model comparison for self-compassion

Model 1a (1-factor) 1703.708 299 0.130 [0.124, 0.136] 0.408 0.155 – – –
Model 1b (3-factor) 1578.851 296 0.125 [0.119, 0.131] 0.459 0.163 124.857 3 b0.001
Model 1c (with one 2nd-order factor) 1099.912 293 0.100 [0.093, 0.106] 0.660 0.142 478.939 3 b 0.001
Model 1d (6-factor) 751.631 284 0.077 [0.070, 0.084] 0.803 0.077 296.143 6 b 0.001

Model fit for psychological well-being

Model 2 (6-factor) 601.540 237 0.075 [0.067, 0.082] 0.886 0.052

Note. Model 1a: 26 items loaded on 1 factor; Model 1b: 26 items (regardless of negatively or positively worded) loaded to self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness, respectively;
Model 1c: self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness, and over-identification as 1st-order factors and self-compassion as the 2nd-order factor; Model 1d: 26
items loaded to six interrelated factors: self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness and over-identification. Model 2: 24 items loaded to six correlated factors:
autonomy, environmental mastery, positive relations with other, personal growth, purpose in life, and self-acceptance.
 X. Sun et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 101 (2016) 288–292 291

Table 3 se = 0.10, p = 0.005). Common humanity demonstrated extensive ef-

Gender differences in different dimensions of self-compassion and psychological well-be- fects on girls' psychological well-being, improving their autonomy
ing (boys: n = 144, girls: n = 133).
(B = 0.20, se = 0.09, p = 0.023), environmental mastery (B = 0.20,
Mean SD Diff. t SE se = 0.08, p = 0.015), positive relations with others (B = 0.17, se =
Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) 0.08, p = 0.026), and personal growth (B = 0.15, se = 0.06, p =
Self-Kindness Boys 3.33 0.75 0.132 1.413 0.093 0.009). While isolation reduced boys' purpose in life (B = − 0.21,
Girls 3.20 0.81 se = 0.10, p = 0.039), self-acceptance (B = − 0.21, se = 0.08, p =
Self-Judgment Boys 3.07 0.66 0.140 1.815 0.077
0.010) and environmental mastery (B = − 0.18, se = 0.09, p =
Girls 2.93 0.62
Common Humanity Boys 3.48 0.82 0.099 1.000 0.099 0.033), it only decreased girls' self-acceptance (B = −0.16, se = 0.07,
Girls 3.38 0.83 p = 0.034). Self-kindness, though merely showing effect on boys' self-
Isolation Boys 2.86 0.91 0.266 2.403⁎ 0.111 acceptance (B = 0.29, se = 09, p = 0.003), increased girls' self-accep-
Girls 2.60 0.93 tance (B = 0.32, se = 09, p b 0.001), positive relations with others
Mindfulness Boys 3.51 0.73 0.018 0.192 0.092
(B = 0.26, se = 0.18, p = 0.005), and environmental mastery (B =
Girls 3.49 0.80
Over-Identification Boys 2.92 0.79 0.159 1.633 0.098 0.19, se = 0.10, p = 0.046). On the contrary, self-judgment predicted
Girls 2.76 0.83 boys' purpose in life (B = 0.33, se = 0.14, p = 0.023) and environmental
mastery (B = 0.24, se = 0.12, p = 0.045), yet it had no significant effect
Psychological Well-Being (PWB)
Autonomy Boys 3.69 0.84 −0.059 −0.581 0.095 on girls' psychological well-being. Taken together, mindfulness and iso-
Girls 3.75 0.74 lation served as predictors of overall psychological well-being for boys
Environmental Mastery Boys 3.75 0.81 −0.200 −2.174⁎ 0.092 while self-kindness and common humanity contributed to girls' psy-
Girls 3.95 0.72
chological well-being (see Table 4 for details).
Personal Growth Boys 4.22 0.67 −0.152 −2.099⁎ 0.072
Girls 4.38 0.52
Positive Relations with Others Boys 3.61 0.82 −0.357 −3.928⁎⁎⁎ 0.091 4. Discussion
Girls 3.96 0.68
Purpose in Life Boys 3.77 0.94 −0.350 −3.402⁎⁎ 0.103 The current study added to the stream of research focusing on well-
Girls 4.12 0.75
being of adolescents and is the first attempt to extend the positive effect
Self-Acceptance Boys 3.89 0.77 −0.041 −0.461 0.089
Girls 3.93 0.71 of self-compassion to eudaimonic well-being of adolescents. On the
whole, adolescents in our study demonstrated favorable well-being.
Note. Diff. represents the difference in mean between boys and girls.
⁎ p b 0.05. They all showed strong endorsement for dimensions of psychological
⁎⁎ p b 0.01. well-being. More importantly, self-compassion components were con-
⁎⁎⁎ p b 0.001. tributive to adolescents' psychological well-being, through gender-dif-
ferentiated pathways.
3.3. Gender differences in the relationship between self-compassion and Collectively, self-kindness and common humanity facilitated girls'
psychological well-being psychological well-being whereas boys benefited from mindfulness
and suffered from isolation. In a society that values human interactions,
Results from simple regression analyses summarized in Table 4 indi- it is not surprising that common humanity yields significant effects,
cated that pathways from self-compassion to psychological well-being varying in its manifestation with girls and boys: alleviating isolation ap-
were different for boys and girls. Mindfulness was most adaptive for peared more critical for boys, for they experienced isolation more fre-
boys, increasing their autonomy (B = 0.44, se = 0.13, p = 0.001), pur- quently. In addition, heightening common humanity emerged more
pose in life (B = 0.35, se = 0.14, p = 0.015), environmental mastery salutary for girls, owning to the fact that the strong connections to
(B = 0.32, se = 0.12, p = 0.008), and personal growth (B = 0.29, others can especially shape girls' self-concepts and personal identity

Table 4
Simple regressions with dimensions of psychological well-being as outcome and components of self-compassion as predictors (n = 277).

Predictors Dependent variables

Autonomy Environmental Personal Growth Positive Relation Purpose in Life Self-Acceptance Overall
Mastery with Others Psychological
Well-Being

B SE B SE B SE B SE B SE B SE B SE

Boys
Self-Kindness 0.11 0.11 0.20 0.10 0.02 0.09 0.14 0.11 0.14 0.12 0.29⁎⁎ 0.09 0.15 0.08
Self-Judgment 0.12 0.13 0.24⁎ 0.12 0.13 0.10 0.21 0.13 0.33⁎ 0.14 0.08 0.11 0.19 0.10
Common Humanity −0.11 0.11 0.02 0.10 0.12 0.08 0.08 0.10 0.01 0.12 0.14 0.09 0.04 0.08
Isolation −0.15 0.09 −0.18⁎ 0.09 −0.08 0.07 −0.17 0.09 −0.21⁎ 0.10 −0.21⁎ 0.08 −0.17⁎ 0.07
Mindfulness 0.44⁎⁎ 0.13 0.32⁎⁎ 0.12 0.29⁎⁎ 0.10 0.22 0.13 0.35⁎ 0.14 0.15 0.11 0.30⁎⁎ 0.10
Over-Identification 0.11 0.12 0.01 0.10 −0.03 0.09 −0.03 0.11 0.03 0.12 −0.04 0.10 0.01 0.08

Girls
Self-Kindness 0.08 0.10 0.19⁎ 0.10 0.13 0.07 0.26⁎⁎ 0.18 0.18 0.11 0.32⁎⁎⁎ 0.09 0.19⁎⁎ 0.07
Self-Judgment 0.15 0.13 0.11 0.10 0.08 0.09 0.09 0.12 0.12 0.14 0.06 0.12 0.10 0.09
Common Humanity 0.20⁎ 0.09 0.20⁎ 0.08 0.15⁎⁎ 0.06 0.17⁎ 0.08 0.10 0.09 0.14 0.07 0.16⁎⁎ 0.06
Isolation −0.09 0.08 −0.13 0.08 −0.08 0.06 −0.11 0.08 −0.07 0.09 −0.16⁎ 0.07 −0.11 0.06
Mindfulness 0.14 0.12 −0.03 0.11 0.05 0.08 −0.11 0.11 0.12 0.13 0.07 0.10 0.04 0.08
Over-Identification −0.08 0.11 −0.17 0.10 −0.04 0.07 −0.12 0.10 −0.01 0.11 −0.03 0.09 −0.07 0.07

Due to the limited space, we omitted coefficients for intercept and age.
Note.
⁎ p b 0.05.
⁎⁎ p b 0.01.
⁎⁎⁎ p b 0.001.
292 X. Sun et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 101 (2016) 288–292

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sign. Moreover, it is necessary to examine whether the gender specific sion. Self and Identity, 2(3), 223–250. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15298860390209035.
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