Background: Studies of the value of compassion on physical and mental health and social relationships have proliferated in the last 25 years. Although, there are several conceptualisations and measures of compassion, this study develops three new measures of compassion competencies derived from an evolutionary, motivational approach. The scales assess 1. the compassion we experience for others, 2. the compassion we experience from others, and 3. self-compassion based on a standard definition of compassion as a 'sensitivity to suffering in self and others with a commitment to try to alleviate and prevent it'. We explored these in relationship to other compassion scales, self-criticism, depression, anxiety, stress and well-being. Methods: Participants from three different countries (UK, Portugal and USA) completed a range of scales including compassion for others, self-compassion, self-criticism, shame, depression, anxiety and stress with the newly developed 'The Compassionate Engagement and Actions' scale.

The development of the compassionate self, associated with practices such as slow and deeper breathing, compassionate voice tones and facial expressions and compassionate focusing is central to Compassion Focused Therapy. This study explores the impact of a two-week Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) program on emotional, self-evaluative and psychopathology measures and on heart rate variability (HRV). Participants (general population and college students) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: CMT (n=56) and Wait-List Control (n=37). Participants in the CMTcondition were instructed to practice CMT exercises during two weeks. Self-report measures of compassion, positive affect, fears of compassion, self-criticism, shame, depression, anxiety and stress, and HRV were collected at pre and post intervention in both conditions. Compared to the control group, the experimental group showed significant increases in positive emotions, associated with feeling relaxed and also safe and content, but not activated; and in selfcompassion, compassion for others and compassion from others. There were significant reductions in shame, self-criticism, fears of compassion, and stress. Only the experimental group reported significant improvement in HRV. Developing awareness of the evolved nature and inherent difficulties of our minds allied with practicing CMT exercises has beneficial effects on participants' psychological and physiological well-being.

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The current study explores an innovative comprehensive model based on social rank theory to understand eating disorders' symptoms in women. A mentality focused on ranking, shame and competition predicts body image dissatisfaction. This ranking-focused mentality, along with body image dissatisfaction, leads to drive for thinness through increased self-criticism and decreased self-compassion. These findings support the emergent psychotherapeutic approaches for eating disorders that target self-criticism and self-compassion.

1 2 Background:The relationship between body composition, energy expenditure and ad libitum 3

The link between self-compassion and psychopathology and quality of life was examined in a mixed sample of cancer patients, in chronic patients, and in healthy subjects. Self-compassion is associated with decreased psychopathological symptoms of stress and depression, and better quality of life in patients with chronic illnesses, and especially in patients with cancer. Psychological supportive interventions targeting the development of self-compassionate attributes and skills may have beneficial effects in the psychological adjustment of medically ill patients, namely patients with cancer.

External shame arises from the perception of negative judgements about the self in the mind of others and is currently measured by Other As Shamer Scale (OAS). This scale has been used in numerous studies. This study sought to develop a valid and reliable shorter form of the scale, called OAS2, in an adult sample of 690 participants, using experts' item ratings and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The OAS2 consisted of 8 items, which replicated the unidimensional structure of the OAS (Matos et al., 2011) and revealed a good fit. The OAS2 had good internal consistency (.82), similar to the longer version. The OAS2 has good concurrent and divergent validity, being highly correlated with the OAS (r = .91). The OAS and OAS2 have very similar significant correlations with measures of internal shame, psychopathology and anger, with no significant difference between them. Our results, suggest that the OAS2 is an economic, valid and reliable measure of external shame. Keywords: External shame; OAS; OAS2; Confirmatory factor analysis; Psychopathology Highlights• The OAS is a widely self-report instrument of external shame.• A short version of the OAS was developed based on expert ratings of the OAS items.• The 8-item OAS2 revealed a unidimensional structure and a good fit.• The OAS2 had good internal consistency, concurrent and divergent validities.• OAS2 is an economic, valid and reliable measure of external shame.

This study presents the development of a new self-report instrument to assess how an individual perceives himself as social agent within his group having physical appearance as a reference, the Social Comparison through Physical Appearance Scale (SCPAS). This scale adds to the existent measures by assessing the social ranking based on one's physical appearance, and not the tendency to make comparisons of the general physical appearance or specific body parts. Its psychometric characteristics are investigated in a sample of 828 female participants from normal population. Principal components analysis was conducted for each part of the instrument: the Part A: peers shows a 2-factor structure (Attractiveness/Rank and Group Fit) explaining 72.142% of the variance; the Part B: models presents a one-dimensional structure that explains 69.191% of the variance. Findings show very good internal consistency coefficients and test-retest reliability. The two parts of the SCPAS are significantly associated to social comparison and shame measures, to anxiety, depression and stress indicators, and to eating disorders symptomatology. The scale discriminates between a clinical sample of 91 patients with an eating disorder and a non-clinical sample of 102 participants. Regression analyses pointed out that social comparison through physical appearance with peers and models partially mediates the effect of the dissatisfaction with current weight on disordered eating, namely drive for thinness.