Stomaching rejection: Self-compassion and self-esteem moderate the impact of daily social rejection on restrictive eating behaviours among college women

Abstract

Objective: The present study examined whether having high self-esteem or a self-compassionate perspective help mitigate the impact of daily social rejection on negative affect and restrictive eating behaviours.Design: Following a baseline survey assessing self-esteem and self-compassion, 121 college women completed online daily diaries for one week.Main Outcome Measures: Negative affect and restrictive eating behaviours.Results: On days when women reported more rejection, they also reported higher restrictive eating behaviours and greater negative affect. Effects were moderated by self-esteem and self-compassion, such that the lower participants were in self-esteem or self-compassion, the stronger the positive relation between rejection and negative affect and restrictive eating. However, only the common humanity/isolation dimension of self-compassion significantly moderated daily effects of rejection when controlling for self-esteem. Mediated moderation results reveal different mechanisms by which self-esteem and self-compassion buffer against rejections’ effects on affect and restrictive eating.Conclusion: Self-compassion and self-esteem influence the complex impact that social rejection has on affect and restrictive eating. More than other dimensions of self-compassion or self-esteem, remembering one’s common humanity can result in a healthier response to social rejection.