How Self-Compassion Moderates the Relation Between Body Surveillance and Body Shame Among Men and Women

Abstract

Objectives: According to objectification theory, being treated as an object leads people, especially women, to perceive themselves as objects. This self-objectification increases body surveillance and feelings of body shame. While this relation is well-established in the literature, little is known about factors that can buffer against detrimental consequences of self-objectification. The current work used a multi-method approach to investigate the role of self-compassion on men and women's perceptions of their bodies. Methods: Study 1 investigated relations between self-compassion, body surveillance, and body shame (N = 60 men, 104 women) using cross-sectional, self-report data. Study 2 (N = 64 men, 94 women) experimentally manipulated self-objectification and self-compassion, assessing resulting body surveillance and shame, whereas Study 3 (N = 69 men, 189 women) manipulated self-objectification among participants high and low in self-compassion. Results: In Study 1, self-compassion was inversely related to body shame and body surveillance, with selfcompassion moderating the link between surveillance and shame among men. In Study 2, self-compassion protected women in the high self-objectification condition from engaging in greater body surveillance. Yet, in Study 3, selfcompassion failed to buffer the consequences of body surveillance on body shame. An integrative analysis (N = 193 men, 387 women) demonstrated that self-compassion was strongly negatively associated with body shame and body surveillance among men and women, protecting against detrimental consequences of body surveillance among men. Conclusions: The current work contributes to a better understanding of links between constructs related to objectification theory and compassion for oneself in the light of gender differences.

How cultural orientation and self-compassion shape objectified body consciousness for women from America, Belgium, Russia, and Thailand

“…Previous findings suggest self-compassion has a positive impact on mental health and body image (e.g. Liss & Erchull, 2015;Wollast et al, 2019;Wollast et al, 2020). We tested a complementary moderation model and found, consistent with hypotheses, that self-compassion moderated the relation between body surveillance and body shame in the pooled sample.…”

Interoceptive Awareness and Anorexia Nervosa

“…Previous researches emphasized the positive effect of a cognitive remediation program on emotion regulation that could be "taught" to patients. For example, self-compassion-the ability to accept oneself kindly or show self-directed kindness while suffering (Neff, 2003)-leads to better eating attitudes and act as a buffer against poor body image perception (Wollast et al, 2019(Wollast et al, , 2020a(Wollast et al, , 2020b. Further studies could investigate the effect of such approach on bodily sensations.…”

How self‐compassion moderates the effect of body surveillance on subjective happiness and depression among women

“…While our focus on women was intentional because of the pervasive nature of objectification and subsequent self‐objectification in women's lives (Fredrickson & Roberts, ), men also engage in body surveillance and experience body shame (see Moradi & Huang, for review), suggesting future work should examine the role of self‐compassion in men's experiences of self‐objectification. Although men may engage in body surveillance, the cultural beauty expectations placed on men may be less unforgiving and therefore men may be more self‐compassionate regarding their appearance than women (see for example Wollast, Riemer, Sarda & Klein, ). Yet, this is an empirical question, and future research should also examine whether self‐compassion plays a similar role in the relation between body surveillance and body shame among men.…”