Although previous studies have shown that self-compassion is associated with self-esteem and depressive symptoms, little is known about the intra-individual processes and the temporal dynamics of these variables. This study used a longitudinal design to explore the association between self-compassion, self-esteem and depressive symptoms among 5785 college students (aged 17–22 years; M_age = 18.63, SD = 0.88; 48.2% females). The participants were assessed six times in a six-month interval over three years. The random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs) were used to disentangle within-person processes from stable between-person differences. Results of RI-CLPMs indicated that at the within-person level, self-compassion can positively predict subsequent self-esteem and negatively predict subsequent depressive symptoms, and vice versa. Self-esteem played a longitudinal mediating role in the prediction from self-compassion to depressive symptoms at the within-person level. These results indicate that cultivating self-compassion in college students is crucial as it can bolster their self-esteem and alleviate depressive symptoms.

尽管之前的研究表明自我慈悲与自尊和抑郁症状相关，但人们对这些变量的个体内部过程和时间动态知之甚少。本研究采用纵向设计，探讨了 5785 名大学生（年龄 17-22 岁； M_年龄= 18.63， SD = 0.88；48.2% 女性）的自我慈悲、自尊和抑郁症状之间的关系。三年内，参与者以六个月为间隔接受了六次评估。随机截距交叉滞后面板模型（RI-CLPM）用于将人内过程与稳定的人间差异分开。 RI-CLPM 的结果表明，在人际层面上，自我慈悲可以正向预测随后的自尊，负向预测随后的抑郁症状，反之亦然。自尊在从自我慈悲到个人内部抑郁症状的预测中发挥着纵向中介作用。这些结果表明，培养大学生的自我同情心至关重要，因为它可以增强他们的自尊并缓解抑郁症状。