How Compassionate Abilities Influence the Experience of Loneliness and Quality of Life of People with and without Chronic Physical Disease

The current study aimed to test whether individuals with and without a chronic physical disease differ in levels of compassionate abilities, loneliness and quality of life (QoL); and to examine whether loneliness mediated the impact of self-compassion and of receiving compassion from others in physical, psychological, and social QoL. In this cross-sectional study, individuals with (n = 278) and without (n = 455) physical chronic disease were recruited through an online self-report protocol. The Compassionate Attributes and Engagement Scale, the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the World Health Organization's QoL-BREF were used. Individuals with a chronic physical disease diagnosis reported lower compassionate abilities and QoL, as well as higher levels of loneliness, when compared to participants without a diagnosis. For both samples, compassionate abilities were negatively linked to loneliness, and positively linked to QoL. Path analysis results indicated that compassionate abilities have a direct effect on loneliness, which explains individuals' perceived QoL. Results highlight the crucial role of self-compassion skills and the ability to perceive others as compassionate, in loneliness and QoL, both in individuals with and without a chronic physical disease. These findings seem to have important research and clinical implications.