The role of self‐compassion in the psychological (mal)adjustment of older adults: A repeated‐measures study protocol

Abstract

Self-compassion is associated with healthy ageing and may be a protection factor of older adults' mental health in face of negative life events and other factors such as insecure attachment. However, fear of self-compassion may constitute an obstacle to promoting self-compassion.The role of self-compassion on the psychological (mal) adjustment of older adults requires further research with robust designs, and fear of self-compassion has not been studied in this population. We will test the moderator and mediator role, respectively, of self-compassion and fear of self-compassion, and we will analyse the longitudinal developmental trajectories of these variables. Methods: A repeated-measures design with three data collection moments across 6 months, using a sample (180-200 participants) of community residents aged ≥65 years. Data will be collected using traditional (i.e. pencil-and-paper questionnaires) and online (i.e. Google Forms) methods.Path analyses will be conducted to test moderation and mediation models. Latent growth curve analyses will be conducted to study the within-person change and betweenperson differences in change over time of self-compassion and fear of self-compassion. Conclusions: We expect that participants with higher selfcompassion will show better psychological adjustment, regardless of attachment quality and negative life events.