"Self-compassion changed my life": The self-compassion experiences of autistic and non-autistic adults and its relationship with mental health and psychological wellbeing.
Autistic adults feel less self-kindness, and brief remote training can raise it while easing depression.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Cai et al. (2023) asked autistic and non-autistic adults to fill out online surveys.
They measured self-compassion, mood, and well-being.
The goal was to see if autistic adults score lower and if low scores link to worse mental health.
What they found
Autistic adults rated themselves much lower on self-compassion.
Lower scores predicted higher depression and lower well-being in both groups.
The pattern was the same for autistic and non-autistic adults, just shifted downward.
How this fits with other research
Cai et al. (2024) took the survey finding and built a fix: a five-week online class that raised self-compassion and cut depression in 39 autistic adults.
Ozturk et al. (2025) pooled 15 studies and showed the same link works for parents of kids with autism—higher self-compassion means less stress and depression.
Brewer et al. (2023) looked at empathy, not self-compassion, and found only small, confidence-based gaps between autistic and non-autistic adults.
Together the picture is clear: autistic people can grow socio-emotional skills; they just start lower and may need targeted support.
Why it matters
If you work with autistic teens or adults, screen self-compassion like you screen for anxiety.
A short online module or even brief kindness prompts during sessions can lift mood and build coping.
Pair the tool with clinician check-ins, since some learners hit rough patches while practicing.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Self-compassion is a gentle way of relating to oneself, linked to a host of mental health benefits in non-autistic people. Although many autistic individuals report high anxiety and depression symptoms, no research to-date has examined the self-compassion experiences of autistic individuals and determined if self-compassion is associated with psychopathology. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to address this research gap. The participants (153 autistic and 93 non-autistic adults) completed on online survey and 11 autistic participants were also interviewed. Autistic participants reported significantly lower self-compassion than non-autistic adults, and in both groups, those with higher self-compassion reported higher psychological wellbeing and lower depression symptoms. Demographic predictors of self-compassion were identified. These findings have both clinical and research implications.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2023 · doi:10.1111/aphw.12051