Abstract
PurposeThis longitudinal study aims to determine what factors mediate the previously established link between self-compassion and eating pathology/body image concerns, over a 6-month period.MethodsA community sample of 274 adult women (M = 29.50 years) completed standardised validated measures of self-compassion (Self-Compassion Scale), rumination (Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire), shame (Other as Shamer Scale), perfectionism (Short Form of the Revised Almost Perfect Scale), self-criticism (Levels of Self-Criticism Scale), eating pathology (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire) and body image (Body Shape Questionnaire). They reported levels of: self-compassion at Time 1, potential mediators (rumination, shame, self-criticism, perfectionism) at 3 months; and eating pathology and body dissatisfaction a further 3 months later. Missing data were handled using multiple imputation. Stepwise multiple regression showed that shame was the most consistent mediator.ResultsShame acted as a full mediator of the self-compassion-eating/body image relationship {respectively, [B = .04, SE = .01, t(268) = 3.93, p < .001], [B = .33, SE = .15, t(268) = 2.25, p < .05]}. Discrepancy perfectionism also played a mediating role in the link between self-compassion and body image dissatisfaction [B = .59, SE = .28, t(268) = 2.10, p < .05].ConclusionThese results support the hypothesis that self-compassion is relevant to eating pathology and body image disturbance, and demonstrate that shame is an important mechanism in that relationship. This pattern suggests that interventions that reduce shame should be considered when addressing issues relating to self-compassion and its links to eating disorders.Level of evidenceLevel IV, multiple time series without intervention.
Highlights
Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions characterized by a persistent course, comorbidity with other psychiatric conditions, medical issues, and high mortality rates [1]
Eating pathology was examined with a subset of scales from the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire—version 6.0 (EDE-Q) [32]
Our findings demonstrate that shame is a perfect mediator of the link between selfcompassion and eating pathology, while both shame and discrepancy perfectionism perfectly mediate the link between self-compassion and body dissatisfaction
Summary
Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions characterized by a persistent course, comorbidity with other psychiatric conditions, medical issues, and high mortality rates [1]. Body image concerns and eating pathology, including dysfunctional eating attitudes (e.g., giving too much time and thought to food and appearance) and behaviours (e.g., binging and purging), are core to the maintenance of eating disorders [2]. Such eating pathology and body issues are common in the non-clinical population [3]. This study addresses body image and eating pathology in a non-clinical group of young adult women, who are at risk of developing such problems [5] The background of these women was that they were recruited in the United Kingdom, which is a relatively typical Western country in terms of levels of eating pathology, and can be considered to be representative of a substantial proportion of the world’s population
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