Is Dispositional Self-Compassion Associated With Psychophysiological Flexibility Beyond Mindfulness? An Exploratory Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Dispositional mindfulness and self-compassion are shown to associate with less self-reported emotional distress. However, previous studies have indicated that dispositional self-compassion may be an even more important buffer against such distress than dispositional mindfulness. To our knowledge, no study has yet disentangled the relationship between dispositional self-compassion and mindfulness and level of psychophysiological flexibility as measured with vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV). The aim was thus to provide a first exploratory effort to expand previous research relying on self-report measures by including a psychophysiological measure indicative of emotional stress reactivity. Methods: Fifty-three university students filled out the "Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire" (FFMQ) and the "Self-Compassion Scale" (SCS), and their heart rate was measured during a 5 min resting electrocardiogram. Linear hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the common and unique variance explained by the total scores of the FFMQ and the SCS on level of resting vmHRV. Results: Higher SCS total scores associated significantly with higher levels of vmHRV also when controlling for the FFMQ total scores. The SCS uniquely explained 7% of the vmHRV. The FFMQ total scores did not associate with level of vmHRV. Conclusion: These results offer preliminary support that dispositional self-compassion associates with better psychophysiological regulation of emotional arousal above and beyond mindfulness.

Compassion Is Not a Benzo: Distinctive Associations of Heart Rate Variability With Its Empathic and Action Components

“…Recent studies (Svendsen et al, 2016(Svendsen et al, , 2020Luo et al, 2018) and meta-analytic evidence (Di Bello et al, 2020) showed that both state (i.e., induced) and trait (i.e., dispositional) compassion, toward oneself and others, are related to higher vmHRV (Di Bello et al, 2020). Additionally, compassion-focused practices can improve vmHRV (Rockliff et al, 2008;Arch et al, 2014;Matos et al, 2017;Petrocchi et al, 2017).…”

Editorial: Self-compassion: From Neuroscience to Clinical Setting

“…However, previous research has also suggested that dispositional SC, rather than dispositional mindfulness, may be an even more effective buffer against emotional distress. In fact, preliminary results from a pilot study indicated that dispositional SC is a stronger predictor of vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) than mindfulness (Svendsen et al, 2020 ). Accordingly, the findings are in line with recent trends in the clinical mindfulness field (Feldman and Kuyken, 2011 ; Segal et al, 2018 ; Conversano et al, 2020 ), which point to a greater explicit focus on SC in mindfulness-based interventions and support clinical work targeting SC (Conversano et al, 2020 ).…”

Preliminary psychometric investigation of Serbian mindful attention and awareness scale (MAAS) and potential role of mindful attention and awareness in behavioral regulation among students

“…As a state of kindness towards self, it might emerge from mindful attention and awareness as a result of an individual being attentive toward its inner feelings and thoughts of suffering [27] . Self-compassion was therefore recognized, along with measures of distress, as a significant correlate [28,29,30] and an important convergent measure [13,31] of Mindful attention and awareness, and its conceptually similar constructs [32] .…”