Self‐Compassion and Self‐Forgiveness in Alcohol Risk, Treatment and Recovery: A Systematic Review

Abstract

IntroductionSelf‐compassion and self‐forgiveness are two self‐focused, positive coping approaches that may reduce risk of problem drinking and/or aid in treatment/recovery from alcohol use disorder. The present systematic review aimed to evaluate support for the unique and complementary roles of self‐compassion and self‐forgiveness in alcohol outcomes.MethodsA systematic literature search yielded 18 studies examining self‐compassion, 18 studies examining self‐forgiveness and 1 study examining both constructs in alcohol outcomes.ResultsFindings suggest greater self‐compassion and self‐forgiveness relate to lower likelihood of problem drinking. Self‐forgiveness was considerably more researched in treatment/recovery outcomes than self‐compassion; self‐forgiveness‐based interventions appear able to improve drinking‐adjacent outcomes, and self‐forgiveness may increase across various alcohol treatments. Finally, research suggests that associations of self‐compassion and/or self‐forgiveness with alcohol outcomes could be driven by numerous factors, including coping‐motivated drinking, depression, psychache, social support perceptions, mental health status and/or psychiatric distress.ConclusionsSelf‐compassion and self‐forgiveness both appear protective against harmful alcohol outcomes. Nevertheless, many questions remain about the role of self‐forgiveness and, particularly, self‐compassion in alcohol treatment and recovery outcomes. Future research should examine whether targeted interventions and/or adjunctive therapeutic supports designed to increase self‐compassion or self‐forgiveness can reduce alcohol use disorder symptoms to facilitate alcohol treatment and recovery success.