Yogyakarta, 30 January 2026 – A recent study entitled “Is low self-compassion characteristic of ICD-11 complex PTSD? Further investigation using cross-cultural samples,” authored by Hong Wang Fung, …, Riangga Novrianto, et al., and published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research (Vol. 193), examines the association between self-compassion and symptoms of complex posttraumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD) as classified in ICD-11. Complex PTSD is a trauma-related disorder that has been relatively recently recognized in ICD-11 and is reported to have a higher prevalence than standard PTSD.
This study employed a cross-cultural approach involving 995 female users of mental health services from various countries. Approximately 22.7% of respondents were from Western countries, while 77.3% were from non-Western countries, primarily in Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, India, and the Philippines. Participants completed validated instruments measuring childhood trauma, symptoms of complex PTSD, and levels of self-compassion. Data were analyzed using one-way ANCOVA to examine differences in self-compassion among participants with PTSD, complex PTSD, and no PTSD, while controlling for age and childhood trauma.
The results showed that individuals with complex PTSD consistently exhibited the lowest levels of self-compassion compared to those with PTSD and those without PTSD, in both Western and non-Western samples. These findings confirm that low self-compassion is a cross-cultural characteristic of complex PTSD. The study recommends that self-compassion–based interventions be integrated into the prevention and treatment of complex PTSD.
Congratulations to Riangga Novrianto and the team of authors.
Prepared by: Fauzi
Editor: Zufar
Article link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.11.007