This randomized-controlled trial aims to test the efficacy of a group intervention (Kg-Free) for women with overweight or obesity based on mindfulness, ACT and compassion approaches. The intervention aimed to reduce weight self-stigma and unhealthy eating patterns and increase quality-of-life (QoL). Seventy-three women, aged between 18 and 55 years old, with BMI ≥25 without binge-eating seeking weight loss treatment were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. Kg-Free comprises 10 weekly group sessions plus 2 booster fortnightly sessions, of 2h30 h each. The control group maintained Treatment as Usual (TAU). Data was collected at baseline and at the end of the Kg-Free intervention. Overall, participants enrolled in Kg-Free found the intervention to be very important and helpful when dealing with their weight-related unwanted internal experiences. Moreover, when compared with TAU, the Kg-Free group revealed a significant increased health-related QoL and physical exercise and a reduction of weight self-stigma, unhealthy eating behaviors, BMI, self-criticism, weight-related experiential avoidance and psychopathological symptoms at post-treatment. Results for self-compassion showed a trend towards significance, whereas no significant between-groups differences were found for mindfulness. Taken together, evidence was found for Kg-Free efficacy in reducing weight-related negative experiences and promoting healthy behaviors, psychological functioning, and QoL.

The present study compares core beliefs between a group of patients with social phobia (n = 62), other anxiety disorders (n = 41) and a group of non-psychiatric controls (n = 55). Participants completed measures to assess social anxiety and the Young's Schema Questionnaire (123-items version) that is designed to assess 15 early maladaptive schemas (EMSs). Results suggest that the schematic structure of patients with social phobia differs from the one of patients with other anxiety disorders and from normal controls'. Patients with social phobia show higher levels of EMSs particularly in the area of disconnection/rejection than patients with other anxiety disorders. Regression analysis identified the EMSs of mistrust/abuse, social undesirability/defectiveness, entitlement, emotional deprivation, unrelenting standards and shame, as the ones that explain most of the variance in our sample subject's anxiety that they felt in social situations and on fear of negative evaluation.

Objective: To present and determine the impact of the Mindfulness-Based Program for Infertility (MBPI). Design: Controlled clinical trial. Setting: University research unit. Patient(s): Fifty-five infertile women completed the MBPI, and 37 infertile women were assigned to a control group. Intervention(s): The MBPI includes 10 weekly sessions, in a group format, with a duration of about 2 hours each (men attend three sessions). Main Outcome Measure(s): Standardized measures of depression, state anxiety, entrapment, defeat, internal and external shame, experiential avoidance, mindfulness, self-compassion, and infertility self-efficacy were endorsed pre-and post-MBPI. Result(s):The MBPI group and the control group were shown to be equivalent at baseline. By the end of the MBPI, women who attended the program revealed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms, internal and external shame, entrapment, and defeat. Inversely, they presented statistically significant improvement in mindfulness skills and self-efficacy to deal with infertility. Women in the control group did not present significant changes in any of the psychological measures, except for a decrease in self-judgment. Conclusion(s): Increasing mindfulness and acceptance skills, as well as cognitive decentering from thoughts and feelings, seem to help women to experience negative inner states in new ways, decreasing their entanglement with them and thus their psychological distress. Data suggest that the MBPI is an effective psychological intervention for women experiencing infertility.

Self-compassion is an adaptive self-attitude when considering personal inadequacies or difficult life situations and seems to be crucial to adolescent's experience. However, self-compassion remains less investigated in adolescence. This paper aims to analyse the psychometric properties of Self-Compassion Scale (SCS; Neff, 2003) and test its six-factor structure through a Confirmatory Factor Analysis in a representative sample of adolescents. The sample consists of 3165 adolescents, aged between 12 and 19 years old (Mage = 15.49) from Portuguese schools. Results confirm the six-factor and second-order structures of the SCS and the measurement invariance across gender. The SCS and subscales also revealed good internal reliability and convergent validity with measures of positive emotional memories, depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms. Overall, our findings suggest that the SCS is a valid and reliable measure to assess self-compassion among adolescents.

This study highlights the importance of emotional regulation processes such as internal and external shame, and self-judgment, to the understanding of psychopathological symptomatology associated with infertility. Our results suggest that these issues should be addressed in a therapeutic context with these couples. Nevertheless, the heterogeneity of the infertile group, in what concerns different stages of medical diagnosis and treatment, might represent a limitation in the interpretation of our findings.

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The objective of this study is to investigate gender differences regarding the mediator role of self-compassion and self-judgment on the effects of external shame, internal shame, dyadic adjustment, on infertility-related stress. One hundred and sixty-two women and 147 men with a primary infertility diagnosis completed the following set of self-report measures: Others as Shamer, Experience of Shame Scale, Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, and Fertility Problem Inventory. Path analyses results revealed that in women self-compassion fully mediated the effect of internal shame on infertility-related stress and partially mediated the effect of dyadic adjustment on this variable, while external shame had only a direct effect. In men self-judgment fully mediated the effect of external and internal shame on infertility-related stress. Dyadic adjustment had only a direct effect on infertility-related stress. In conclusion, there is a distinct role of self-compassion and self-judgment on the relationship between shame and infertility-related stress in men and women. Such differences should be taken into account in psychological interventions with these patients. Future research is warranted to further support our results.