The relationship between self-esteem and self-compassion in socially anxious

Abstract

Fear of evaluation and a negative view of the self are the core aspects of social anxiety. Self-compassion and self-esteem are two distinct positive attitudes toward the self, which are positively related to each other, well-being and good psychological functioning. It is less clear, however, how they interplay in socially anxious individuals and if self-compassion may reduce the negative effect of low self-esteem on social anxiety. The current research aimed at evaluating the directional links between those constructs to check if self-compassion mediates the effect of self-esteem on social anxiety. In this study, 388 adult participants with elevated social anxiety completed measures of self-compassion, self-esteem and social anxiety. As expected, both self-esteem and self-compassion correlated negatively with social anxiety and positively with one another, with lower self-esteem being a stronger predictor of social anxiety. Importantly, self-compassion partially mediated the relationship between self-esteem and social anxiety. These findings suggest that self-compassion partially explains the negative effects of deficits in self-esteem on social anxiety. Practical implications of the research are discussed.

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

“…Based on this theory, this study further verified and enriched this theory by using the positive prediction of appearance anxiety on social anxiety and the negative prediction of self-compassion. Notably, in contrast to self-esteem, self-compassion has no negative costs or consequences and is associated with positive mental health outcomes ( 40 ). Appearance anxiety can lead to a negative evaluation of oneself, resulting in a continuous decrease in self-compassion levels and a state of social anxiety.…”

Self-Esteem and Self-Compassion: A Narrative Review and Meta-Analysis on Their Links to Psychological Problems and Well-Being

“…It is assumed that there is a temporal link between self-esteem and self-compassion, in which the former serves as the foundation of the latter. Interesting, a number of studies have already explored this by testing mediation models in which self-compassion acts as the connecting variable between self-esteem (independent variable) and indices of psychological problems 87 , 88 and well-being 89 (dependent variable). Note also that the model includes potential downsides of both self-related concepts: defensiveness (including narcissistic tendencies) in the case of self-esteem and passivity (in the form of self-indulgence and self-pity) in the case of self-compassion, which may undermine the effectivity of the self-related screen against the drawbacks in life.…”

Mediating Effects of Self-Esteem on the Relationship Between Self-Compassion and Empathy Among Vietnamese University Students

“…In addition, our present findings provide increasing evidence that self-compassion may be a protective factor (Neff, 2003 ). For example, Holas et al ( 2021 ) demonstrated that self-compassion significantly predicts empathy in almost all areas of psychology, including positive psychology, psychological health, motivation, and interpersonal functioning, in which self-compassion plays a role in increasing empathy via self-esteem.…”