Does self-compassion buffer the detrimental effect of body shame on depressive symptoms?

Self-Compassion Buffers the Psychological Distress from Perceived Discrimination Among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Emerging Adults: A Longitudinal Study

“…This suggests that when researchers investigate the moderation effect of self-compassion within the domains of psychopathology (e.g., depression, anxiety, stress, rumination, negative affect) or in the stressorpsychological distress link, CS may be better than overall SC (total or average SCS score) in presenting a protective nature (Muris et al, 2021). If total or average SCS score is used, post hoc sensitivity analyses with additional moderation models are necessary to examine whether there are different moderating effects of CS and overall SC (Sick et al, 2020), especially in the context of psychopathology.…”

“…Some studies have found that particular aspects of self-compassion (presence of positive self-responding: CS; absence or decrease of negative self-responding: RUS; self-compassion including both CS and RUS: overall SC) might make different contributions to buffering the negative effect of stressors (e.g., life stress, COVID-19-related threat) on psychological distress (e.g., depressive and anxiety symptoms) (Lau et al, 2020;Salinger & Whisman, 2021). Sick et al (2020) found that overall SC and CS played moderating roles in the association between body shame and depressive symptoms among women. For women with lower levels of self-compassion and CS, body shame was associated with depressive symptoms.…”

“…Although associations between perceived discrimination due to socioeconomic disadvantage and psychological distress have been found in previous studies (Gamarel et al, 2012;Song et al, 2020), the specific contributions of aspects of selfcompassion (CS, RUS, or overall SC) in its buffering effect on this association have not been examined. It is especially useful to investigate these effects with a longitudinal design, as findings from cross-sectional research are somewhat limited regarding the directionality of the effects and predictability of the associations between variables (Chan et al, 2020;Sick et al, 2020). Thus, the present study of socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals adopted a longitudinal design to examine the moderating effects of self-compassion in the association between perceived discrimination and psychological distress with the consideration of its specific aspects (presence of positive self-responding: CS; absence or decrease of negative self-responding: RUS; both CS and RUS: overall SC).…”

Self-Compassion Moderates the Association Between Body Dissatisfaction and Suicidal Ideation in Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Failure to attain society’s standards for attractiveness may result in chronic and negative feelings and facilitate body dissatisfaction and social stigma. Negative body perception and feelings of unattractiveness are associated with affective disorder vulnerabilities, a sense of worthlessness, and hopelessness, all of which are predictors of suicide risk (Sick et al, 2020 ). As an individual skill, self-compassion plays a significant albeit modest role in suicidality.…”

“Dear past me, know that you are deserving of compassion and care”: Self-compassionate writings of adolescent girls recalling weight-stigmatizing events in physical activity.

“…Self-compassion is uniquely positioned to disrupt the process of self-stigma, where negative stereotypes associated with one’s identity are internalized and applied to the self (Gilbert & Irons, 2008). Indeed, a review of observational research shows that self-compassion has been consistently associated with lower scores of body- and weight-related shame and internalized stigma (Albertson et al, 2015; Breines et al, 2014; Ferreira et al, 2013; Mosewich et al, 2011), and has been shown to buffer negative effects on psychological outcomes in observational research (Bluth et al, 2016; Körner et al, 2015; Sick et al, 2020). Recently, Wong et al (2019) proposed a conceptual model to illustrate how self-compassion can function to buffer the negative effects of experienced and internalized stigma on negative outcomes.…”