Resilience to shape and weight concerns and disordered eating: the role of self-compassion

Abstract

Objective: This research examined applications of self-compassion (SC), an emotionally positive self-attitude in times of hardship, to shape and weight concerns and disordered eating. Methods: The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) assesses Self-Kindness vs. Self-Judgement, Common Humanity vs. Isolation, and Mindfulness vs. Over-Identification. Women from the community (N = 131) completed measures of shape and weight concerns, disordered eating, depression, and global distress. Results: After controlling for demographic variables, SCS Self-Kindness, Self-Judgement and Isolation subscales accounted for additional unique variance in shape and weight concern measures, while the SCS Over-Identification subscale accounted for variance in disordered eating. The SCS Mindfulness subscale moderated the relation between distress and disordered eating, such that higher distress was associated with more disordered eating in individuals with low, but not high, Mindfulness. Discussion: Whereas a kind non-judgemental self-atti...