Exploring the relationship between self-compassion and body dysmorphic symptoms in adolescents

Allen, Luke M.; Roberts, Carly; Zimmer‐Gembeck, Melanie J.; Farrell, Lara J.

doi:10.1016/j.jocrd.2020.100535

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…In particular, focusing on self-compassion may entail certain benefits because it appears to be independent of personal achievements and success and thereby may result in more stable self-evaluations and reduced processes of comparing oneself to others (e.g., in the domain of appearance) [ 69 ]. Higher levels of self-compassion were associated with fewer BDD symptoms in a sample of adolescents [ 70 ]. Veale and Gilbert proposed to improve current treatments for BDD by developing a functional and evolutionary understanding of the BDD symptoms and by learning to relate to oneself and others with compassion and kindness [ 71 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body dysmorphic disorder and self-esteem: a meta-analysis

et al. 2021

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Objective Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is associated with low self-esteem. The aim of this meta-analysis was to examine the strength of the cross-sectional relationship between BDD symptom severity and global self-esteem in individuals with BDD, mentally healthy controls, community or student samples, and cosmetic surgery patients. Moreover, the role of depressive symptom severity in this relationship and other moderating factors were investigated. Methods A keyword-based literature search was performed to identify studies in which BDD symptoms and global self-esteem were assessed. Random effects meta-analysis of Fisher’s z-transformed correlations and partial correlations controlling for the influence of depressive symptom severity was conducted. In addition to meta-analysis of the observed effects, we corrected the individual correlations for variance restrictions to address varying ranges of BDD symptom severity across samples. Results Twenty-five studies with a total of 6278 participants were included. A moderately negative relationship between BDD symptom severity and global self-esteem was found (r = −.42, CI = [−.48, −.35] for uncorrected correlations, r = −.45, CI = [−.51, −.39] for artifact-corrected correlations). A meta-analysis of partial correlations revealed that depressive symptom severity could partly account for the aforementioned relationship (pr = −.20, CI = [−.25, −.15] for uncorrected partial correlations, pr = −.23, CI = [−.28, −.17] for artifact-corrected partial correlations). The sample type (e.g., individuals with BDD, mentally healthy controls, or community samples) and diagnosis of BDD appeared to moderate the relationship only before artifact correction of effect sizes, whereas all moderators were non-significant in the meta-analysis of artifact-corrected correlations. Conclusions The findings demonstrate that low self-esteem is an important hallmark of BDD beyond the influence of depressive symptoms. It appears that negative evaluation in BDD is not limited to appearance but also extends to other domains of the self. Altogether, our findings emphasize the importance of addressing self-esteem and corresponding core beliefs in prevention and treatment of BDD.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body dysmorphic disorder and self-esteem: a meta-analysis

et al. 2021

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“…Self-compassion refers to a non-judgmental, kind and tolerant attitude toward one's own pain and deficiency ( 18 ). Appearance anxiety was found to be positively correlated with the negative sense component of self-compassion ( 19 ). Therefore, low levels of self-compassion may increase the risk of social anxiety ( 20 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Appearance anxiety and social anxiety: A mediated model of self-compassion

Gao

Feng

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundPrevious studies have focused on the comorbidity of appearance anxiety and social anxiety, but few studies have focused on the protective role of self-compassion as underlying this mechanism, in young people like University students. With the increase of prevalence of appearance anxiety and social anxiety in this age group, it is necessary to explore factors that can buffer against the symptoms of these disorders. Therefore, the aims of this study were to research the effect of appearance anxiety and social anxiety, then to examine whether self-compassion has a protective effect on social anxiety.MethodThe study was cross-sectional and conducted online from October 2021 to November 2021 in Jilin Province, China. A total of 63 Universities in the province participated in this study, totaling 96,218 participants, of which 40,065 were males (41.64%) and 56,153 females (58.36%), the mean age of the sample was 19.59 (±1.74). The Appearance Anxiety Scale-Brief Version was used to measure appearance anxiety. The Social Anxiety subscale of the Self-Consciousness Scale was used to measure social anxiety. The Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form was used to measure self-compassion. A structural equation model (SEM) was run to examine the mediating effect of self-compassion on the relationship between appearance anxiety and social anxiety.ResultOverall, appearance anxiety was positively associated with social anxiety [β = 0.334, 95% CI = (0.328, 0.341), p < 0.001], and self-compassion could mediate the effect of appearance anxiety on social anxiety [β = 0.128, 95% CI = (0.124, 0.132), p < 0.001]. Self-compassion played a partial mediating role between appearance anxiety and social anxiety.ConclusionIndividuals with high appearance anxiety are also at higher risk of social anxiety, but self-compassion can buffer against this relationship. These findings begin to explore novel approaches to treat social anxiety and can provide valuable insights for self-compassion training.

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“…A considerable amount of research has supported the two-factor solution (e.g. Allen et al, 2020; Bengtsson et al, 2016; Stolow et al, 2016), and according to Neff (2016), the positive and negative aspects represent compassionate versus uncompassionate behaviours towards the self.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-compassion as a mediator of the association between autistic traits and depressive/anxious symptomatology

Galvin

Howes

McCarthy

et al. 2020

Autism

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Self-compassion refers to the extension of kindness to oneself when faced with inadequacies, shortcomings or failures. This study examined the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between autistic traits and depressive/anxious symptomatology in the general population. Participants included 164 university students (69 males and 95 females) ranging in age from 18 to 51 years (mean = 23.16, standard deviation = 7.81). Participants completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient, the Self-Compassion Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A series of multiple mediation analyses was conducted using the bootstrapping method, and it was found that Total Self-Compassion and the two subscales of Compassionate Self-Responding and Uncompassionate Self-Responding partially mediated the relationship between autistic traits and anxious/depressive symptoms. The indirect effect of self-compassion accounted for 41.9% of the variance in the relationship between autistic traits and depressive symptoms and 50% of the variance in the relationship between autistic traits and anxiety symptoms. It was also further found that the correlation between autistic traits and self-compassion was significantly stronger in males than females. Although preliminary, the current findings suggest that self-compassion could potentially serve as a target for clinical intervention in individuals with elevated autistic traits who experience anxiety and/or depression. Lay Abstract In this study, we asked 164 undergraduate students to complete an online questionnaire. The questionnaire measured the students’ levels of autistic traits, self-compassion, and experience of anxiety and depression. We were interested in knowing if self-compassion (defined as the extension of kindness to oneself when faced with challenges) had any influence on the relationship between autistic traits and experiences of anxiety and depression. The results of the study indicated that self-compassion may be an important factor influencing the relationship between autistic traits and mental health, with higher levels of self-compassion being related to more positive mental health outcomes. Although the findings should be considered preliminary in nature, they do suggest that self-compassion could potentially be a target for clinical intervention in people with elevated autistic traits and experience anxiety and/or depression.

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Exploring the relationship between self-compassion and body dysmorphic symptoms in adolescents

Cited by 12 publications

References 60 publications

Body dysmorphic disorder and self-esteem: a meta-analysis

Body dysmorphic disorder and self-esteem: a meta-analysis

Appearance anxiety and social anxiety: A mediated model of self-compassion

Self-compassion as a mediator of the association between autistic traits and depressive/anxious symptomatology

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