A cross-cultural exploration of compassion, and facilitators and inhibitors of compassion in UK and Sri Lankan people
A cross-cultural exploration of compassion, and facilitators and inhibitors of compassion in UK and Sri Lankan people
Background: practising compassion has shown to increase well-being and reduce distress in people across cultures. However, very little research has explored cultural differences in different facets of compassion with a dearth of research evident especially in the Asian context. Several inhibitors and facilitators of compassion have been identified although the nuances of cultural differences of these remain unexploited. This study aimed to discover cross-cultural similarities and differences of the levels of compassion, facilitators and inhibitors of compassion between Sri Lankan and UK people.
Methods: a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based quantitative research was conducted among 149 Sri Lankan and 300 UK participants. Individual predictors (such as fears of compassion, self-reassurance, external shame, social safeness and pleasure, depression and anxiety) were also explored in relation to compassion, compassion to others, and compassion from others in each group.
Results: the results indicated that Sri Lankan participants were more self-reassured and self-compassionate and self-identifying as a Buddhist predicted higher self-compassion, when compared to UK participants. However, Sri Lankan participants reported higher levels of external shame and fear of compassion not just towards themselves, but also towards and from others, indicating difficulty in engaging compassionately with others. In contrast, UK participants reported higher social safeness, indicating that they were more likely to feel safe and soothed by the society than the Sri Lankan participants.
Conclusions: society plays a pivotal role in shaping one's experiences of compassion. This study suggests that specific cultural and social factors should be considered when implementing Western compassionate approaches to non-Western settings.
Compassion, Sri Lankan, UK, cross-cultural, facilitators, inhibitors, society
99-110
Kariyawasam, Lasara
06cbe31c-97c4-4cc7-8a83-fab26ad04325
Ononaiye, Margarita
494d4a0d-a1f8-431a-8316-d97d5d0b600b
Irons, Chris
bc460f5f-232a-4580-bf71-1abbe885e49b
Kirby, Sarah
9be57c1b-5ab7-4444-829e-d8e5dbe2370b
23 February 2022
Kariyawasam, Lasara
06cbe31c-97c4-4cc7-8a83-fab26ad04325
Ononaiye, Margarita
494d4a0d-a1f8-431a-8316-d97d5d0b600b
Irons, Chris
bc460f5f-232a-4580-bf71-1abbe885e49b
Kirby, Sarah
9be57c1b-5ab7-4444-829e-d8e5dbe2370b
Kariyawasam, Lasara, Ononaiye, Margarita, Irons, Chris and Kirby, Sarah
(2022)
A cross-cultural exploration of compassion, and facilitators and inhibitors of compassion in UK and Sri Lankan people.
Global Mental Health, 9, .
(doi:10.1017/gmh.2022.10).
Abstract
Background: practising compassion has shown to increase well-being and reduce distress in people across cultures. However, very little research has explored cultural differences in different facets of compassion with a dearth of research evident especially in the Asian context. Several inhibitors and facilitators of compassion have been identified although the nuances of cultural differences of these remain unexploited. This study aimed to discover cross-cultural similarities and differences of the levels of compassion, facilitators and inhibitors of compassion between Sri Lankan and UK people.
Methods: a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based quantitative research was conducted among 149 Sri Lankan and 300 UK participants. Individual predictors (such as fears of compassion, self-reassurance, external shame, social safeness and pleasure, depression and anxiety) were also explored in relation to compassion, compassion to others, and compassion from others in each group.
Results: the results indicated that Sri Lankan participants were more self-reassured and self-compassionate and self-identifying as a Buddhist predicted higher self-compassion, when compared to UK participants. However, Sri Lankan participants reported higher levels of external shame and fear of compassion not just towards themselves, but also towards and from others, indicating difficulty in engaging compassionately with others. In contrast, UK participants reported higher social safeness, indicating that they were more likely to feel safe and soothed by the society than the Sri Lankan participants.
Conclusions: society plays a pivotal role in shaping one's experiences of compassion. This study suggests that specific cultural and social factors should be considered when implementing Western compassionate approaches to non-Western settings.
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Accepted/In Press date: 25 January 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 23 February 2022
Published date: 23 February 2022
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© The Author(s) 2022.
Keywords:
Compassion, Sri Lankan, UK, cross-cultural, facilitators, inhibitors, society
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Local EPrints ID: 455534
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/455534
ISSN: 2054-4251
PURE UUID: 3996d965-d8bc-442c-b9af-ea3e68aefb12
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Date deposited: 24 Mar 2022 17:40
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:57
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Author:
Chris Irons
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