Experiences Of Rejection Research Articles

Stories that trigger challenging experiences of failure, abandonment, rejection, and criticism in romantic relationships

Kişilerarası Döngü Modeli son yıllarda kişilerarası eğilimleri kavramsallaştırmak, düzenlemek ve değerlendirmek için güçlü bir araç hâline gelmiştir. Buna göre, kişilerarası döngüsel model, ilişkilerin doğasına yönelik kuramsal bir zemin oluşturmayı ve bu yolla ‘ben’ ve ‘diğeri’ ilişkilerine ilişkin bir kavrayış sunmayı kolaylaştırmaktadır. Mevcut çalışmanın iki temel amacından ilki, zorlayıcı yaşam olayları olarak tanımladığımız dört temaya (başarısızlık, terk edilme, reddedilme ve eleştirilme) ilişkin geçerli ve güvenilir hikâyeler oluşturmaktır. İkincisi ise bu hikâyelerin kişilerarası ilişkilerde, Kutuplu Döngü Modeli temel alınarak, kuramsal çerçevede incelebilir bir örneğini sunmaktır. Bu amaca uygun olarak iki ayrı örneklem tanımlanmıştır. İlkinde, yaşları 18-35 arasında değişen toplamda 40 kişiden (yaş: Ort. = 25.46, SS = 1.66) alınan başarısızlık, terk edilme, reddedilme ve eleştirilmeye yönelik örnek durumlardan esinlenilerek on iki hikâye oluşturulmuştur. Hikâyelerin hedef temayı temsil etme düzeyi klinik psikoloji alanında uzman üç yargıcı ve on değerlendirici tarafından incelenmiştir. Bu aşamada hikâyelerin etkililiğini test etmek amacıyla, Kişilerarası Şemalar konusunda kuramsal bilgiye sahip beş yargıcı bulunmuştur. İkinci olarak, hikâyelere verilen yanıtların Kiesler’in (1983) Kutuplu Döngü Modeline uygun şekilde kodlanabilirliğinin değerlendirilmesi amacıyla üç ayrı yargıcıyla pilot uygulama yapılmıştır. Bu aşamada yedisi erkek 15 kişiye (yaş: Ort. = 22.43, SS = 3.87) yapılan pilot uygulama sonuçları ve yargıcılar arası tutarlılık değerlerine göre tüm hikâyeler için güvenirlik katsayısı yüksek ve anlamlı bulunmuştur (Sınıf İçi Korelasyon Katsayısı [SİKK] = .84 ile .99, p = .025). Romantik İlişkilerde Hikâye Tamamlama Envanterinin psikometrik özelliklerinin, Bilişsel Kişilerarası Kuram çerçevesinde incelenebilir düzeylerde olduğuna ve alanyazında kullanılabileceğine karar verilmiştir.

How gendered religious norms contribute to the emerging gender gap in Muslim youths’ interreligious friendships

Recent research finds that Muslim girls increasingly have in-group friendships in adolescence, while Muslim boys remain more open to interreligious friendships. This gender gap mirrors established findings of female Muslims’ lower involvement in interreligious romantic relationships, which is attributed to gendered religious norms. In this study, we examine whether gendered religious norms also contribute to the emerging gender gap in Muslim youths’ interreligious friendship-making. Building on the literature on intergroup dating, we identify religiosity, parental control, and leisure time activities as key factors through which religious norms may not only constrain Muslim girls’ intergroup romantic relationships, but also their interreligious friendships. We also examine the contribution of gendered experiences of religious discrimination and rejection by non-Muslims to religious friendship-making. We study 737 Muslim youth from age 11–17 with six waves of longitudinal German data and find that religiosity, parental control, and leisure time activities all contribute to the emerging gender gap in interreligious friendship-making. Religiosity is associated with more in-group friendships, but only rises among Muslim girls in adolescence, not among boys. By contrast, parental control increases among both genders, but it only constrains girls’ interreligious friendships. Muslim girls’ declining participation in clubs also is associated with fewer interreligious friendships. Gendered experiences of religious discrimination and rejection do not contribute to the gender gap. Jointly, these factors explain one third of the emerging gender gap in interreligious friendship-making. This finding suggests that gendered religious norms not only limit interreligious romantic relationships but also interreligious friendships of Muslim girls.

Psychological comorbidities and suicidality in sexual and gender minority foster youth

ObjectiveSexual and gender minority youth (SGMY), or those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or gender diverse and questioning are suggested to be overrepresented in the U.S. foster care system. Lack of systematized data collection on youths’ sexual orientation and/or gender identity in child welfare has curtailed studies of this population. This community-based study assessed psychological and behavioral health of youth with current or past foster care involvement in an urban public child welfare system, and examined relations between types of victimization (e.g. LGBTQ-based victimization, caregiver rejection, intimate partner violence) and psychological functioning. MethodsA total of 35 (12–26 years old) participants were administered a survey assessing multiple domains of health and wellbeing between October 2018 and February 2020. Primary quantitative outcomes included depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptomatology, suicide ideation, planning, and attempt, and non-suicidal self-injury. Results42.7 % of participants identified as lesbian or gay, 37.1 % as bisexual or pansexual, and 20 % identified as heterosexual. 54.3 % identified as transgender or gender diverse (TG/GD). Over 75 % (75.06 %, n = 25) of the total sample met the clinical cutoff for Total Internalizing, 64.71 % (n = 22) met the clinical cutoff for Depression, and 78.79 % (n = 26) met the clinical cutoff for Anxiety. 70 % reported suicidal ideation and 45 % past suicide attempt. Rejection experiences based on sexual orientation were associated with anxiety, depression and post-traumatic symptoms; discrimination experiences based on sexual orientation or TG/GD expression were associated with anxiety. Loneliness and everyday discrimination were associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms. IPV, everyday discrimination, rejection, discrimination, and victimization based on sexual orientation and gender identity, while not statistically significant within this sample, did emerge as factors warranting further investigation concerning suicide ideation, planning, and attempt. Conclusion75% of the SGMY in this this study met the clinical threshold for mood disorders, reinforcing the importance of integrated behavioral health support in clinical and wraparound care for SGMY in foster care, and the critical role of SGM-specific competencies for the entire care team. Teams caring for SGMY should be aware of community resources that are competent in addressing SGM-specific stressors and the impacts of multiple forms of victimization, including intimate partner violence for SGMY. Targeted efforts and to work with families are needed.

Availability of psychological resources for parents receiving communication of positivity at newborn screening for metabolic diseases in Italy.

Receiving information in the case of a positive or false-positive expanded newborn screening (ENBS) result for metabolic diseases is a stressful event. The availability of psychological support to families is crucial across the different communication steps and is recommended by different guidelines and position papers. However, more information is needed about the availability of psychological resources in the ENBS process. This national survey aimed to provide an overview of the availability of psychological resources for parents who received communication of positivity at the ENBS in the 23 Italian centers and how the support is provided to parents. An online survey was sent to the Heads of the ENBS centers asking about the availability of a clinical psychologist, their involvement in the ENBS process, and an estimation of parents receiving psychological support. More than 60% of the centers report having a clinical psychologist in the ENBS team; however, in more than 50% of cases, the psychologist does not participate in the consultation with parents (nor for the first consultation post-positivity or at confirmation of diagnosis). Furthermore, nearly 60% of the centers reported the experience of parental rejection of psychological sessions. Conclusion: There is a need for harmonization among the Italian ENBS centers concerning the availability of psychological resources and how these resources are provided to families. Parents' needs remained only partially fulfilled. What is Known: • Receiving communication of positivity at the ENBS can be highly stressful for parents and requires adequate psychological support. • The guidelines recommend psychological support for parents during the ENBS process. What is New: • Only 14/23 (60.9%) of Italian ENBS centers have a clinical psychologist within the team. • In half of the consultations with parents receiving communication of positivity, the clinical psychologist is never involved.

Weaponized Autism: Making Sense of Violent Internalized Ableism in Online Incel Communities

ABSTRACT Much attention has been paid to incel communities in recent years. Comprised of involuntary celibate individuals who are dissatisfied with their shared experiences of romantic and sexual rejection, incels blame women and the societal rejection of hegemonic masculinity as the cause of their grievances. Current scholarship has produced conflicting results regarding the prevalence of autism within incel communities when compared to the general population. At the same time, no research to date has explored the intersection of incels and autism using perspectives from individuals in the incel community. Using a critical autism lens, this present study thematically analyzes 20 online incel message boards to explore the sense-making of self-identified autistic incels. Findings indicate that incels’ internalized ableism of autism is employed to categorically justify the victimhood and entitlement that grounds their ideology. This weaponization of autism is then used to promote ableism and networked misogyny. Implications for understanding ableist and misogynistic beliefs associated with inceldom are provided.

Boosting the performance of reverse osmosis membrane by macrocyclic molecule through interfacial coordination-driven strategy

Developing polyamide reverse osmosis (RO) membrane with superior permeability and salt rejection is highly desired for desalination. In this study, we propose an interfacial coordination-driven strategy to promote the incorporation of macrocyclic molecule into the polyamide layer and further improve the performance of RO membrane. To this end, the macrocyclic molecule Noria and transition metal salt Fe(acac)3 are added into the aqueous phase and organic phase respectively. During the interfacial polymerization (IP) reaction of m-phenylenediamine (MPD) with trimesoyl chloride (TMC), Fe3+ as electron acceptor would coordinate with the electron donor Noria to form Noria-Fe3+ complex at the aqueous-organic interface. This effectively promotes the diffusion of Noria and its further incorporation into the resulting polyamide layer. As a result, the RO membrane with Noria-Fe3+ exhibits closely packed band-like surface morphology, obviously different from the traditional leaf-like structure formed by MPD-TMC. Benefitting from the inner cavity of Noria, the permeance of RO membrane is significantly improved from 1.37 Lm−2h−1bar−1 to 3.87 Lm−2h−1 bar−1 at the optimal Noria and Fe(acac)3 concentrations of 0.1 wt%, while the NaCl rejection experiences little change from 98.8 % to 98.2 %. Besides, the flux decline ratio and flux recovery ratio of obtained RO membrane are 21 % and 85 % respectively in the bovine serum albumin fouling test. It exhibits more excellent anti-fouling ability than the nascent membrane due to the better hydrophilicity and smoother membrane surface. This simple strategy may pave a novel way for the application of other molecules with special structures as additives to fabricate high-performance RO membranes.

The Longitudinal Interplay between Adverse Peer Experiences and Self-Regulation Facets: A Prospective Analysis during Middle Childhood

Positive peer experiences and self-regulation (SR) skills are crucial for children's healthy development, but little is known about how they interact during middle childhood. Therefore, we examined the prospective links between adverse peer experiences (APEs) and SR, drawing from the dataset of the PIER study. Across three measurement points, 1654 children aged 6–11 (T1), 7–11 (T2), and 9–13 years (T3) were included. We assessed the SR facets updating, flexibility, inhibition, emotional reactivity, inhibitory control, and planning using computerized tasks, parent- and teacher-reports. The latent variable of APEs consisted of measures of peer victimization and peer rejection assessed via self-, parent-, and teacher-report. Separate cross-lagged panel models were calculated, investigating the interplay of each SR facet and APEs. Results indicated that experiencing more APEs at T1 predicted higher emotional reactivity, and lower inhibition, inhibitory control, updating, and flexibility at T2. More APEs at T2 predicted higher emotional reactivity and lower planning at T3. Lower inhibition, updating, and flexibility at T2 predicted more APEs at T3. Accordingly, we found a negative bidirectional relationship between inhibition, updating, and flexibility with APEs. Our findings highlight that during middle childhood more APEs predict lower SR, which in turn predicts more experiences of peer victimization and rejection.

"I Love Every Part of You"

"I Love Every Part of You"

Recreating diasporic identity and community: Examination of transgender and nonbinary latinx healing from family rejection.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of healing from family rejection among transgender and nonbinary Latinx individuals. Participants were asked how they navigated family dynamics related to gender identity and specific behaviors or resources that promoted their healing from experiences of family rejection. Data from 12 interviews with Latinx nonbinary and transgender adults were analyzed through a critical-constructivist grounded theory method resulting in a hierarchy composed of three clusters related to the core category (healing from family rejection leads to the recreation of diasporic identity and community as one learns to live authentically in their ethnic/racial gendered expression). These clusters included recreation of the family system, community-based cultural healing, and autonomy in trans identity and psychological well-being. Relevant contributions to research and implications for psychologists are reviewed: (a) Latinx diasporic identity formation is facilitated through the reconstruction of familial relationships and cultural healing, and (b) chosen family and supportive community networks may adopt the responsibility of ethnic-racial socialization after proximity to family of origin is lost. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A narrative inquiry of the college entrance rejection experience using Career Construction Interview

A narrative inquiry of the college entrance rejection experience using Career Construction Interview

Words hurt: common and distinct neural substrates underlying nociceptive and semantic pain.

Recent studies have shown that processing semantic pain, such as words associated with physical pain, modulates pain perception and enhances activity in regions of the pain matrix. A direct comparison between activations due to noxious stimulation and processing of words conveying physical pain may clarify whether and to what extent the neural substrates of nociceptive pain are shared by semantic pain. Pain is triggered also by experiences of social exclusion, rejection or loss of significant others (the so-called social pain), therefore words expressing social pain may modulate pain perception similarly to what happens with words associated with physical pain. This event-related fMRI study aims to compare the brain activity related to perceiving nociceptive pain and that emerging from processing semantic pain, i.e., words related to either physical or social pain, in order to identify common and distinct neural substrates. Thirty-four healthy women underwent two fMRI sessions each. In the Semantic session, participants were presented with positive words, negative pain-unrelated words, physical pain-related words, and social pain-related words. In the Nociceptive session, participants received cutaneous mechanical stimulations that could be either painful or not. During both sessions, participants were asked to rate the unpleasantness of each stimulus. Linguistic stimuli were also rated in terms of valence, arousal, pain relatedness, and pain intensity, immediately after the Semantic session. In the Nociceptive session, the 'nociceptive stimuli' vs. 'non-nociceptive stimuli' contrast revealed extensive activations in SI, SII, insula, cingulate cortex, thalamus, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In the Semantic session, words associated with social pain, compared to negative pain-unrelated words, showed increased activity in most of the same areas, whereas words associated with physical pain, compared to negative pain-unrelated words, only activated the left supramarginal gyrus and partly the postcentral gyrus. Our results confirm that semantic pain partly shares the neural substrates of nociceptive pain. Specifically, social pain-related words activate a wide network of regions, mostly overlapping with those pertaining to the affective-motivational aspects of nociception, whereas physical pain-related words overlap with a small cluster including regions related to the sensory-discriminative aspects of nociception. However, most regions of overlap are differentially activated in different conditions.

Causal effects of appearance-related social exclusion on state body dissatisfaction among young Chinese adults

ObjectivesNumerous studies have linked experiences of appearance-related interpersonal rejection to body dissatisfaction (BD), though few experimental studies have been conducted. This study assessed causal effects of appearance-related social exclusion during an online Cyberball game on state BD as well as potential moderators of this association. MethodsYoung Chinese adults (60 women, 37 men; age 20.08 ± 1.32 years) were asked to provide an image of themselves that would be sent to other players prior to a visual perception study involving Cyberball, a virtual ball-tossing game that is used to elicit temporary social exclusion effects. Participants completed a trait Fear of Negative Appearance Evaluation (FNAE) measure before or after engaging in the Cyberball task in addition to post-task state measures of BD and positive mood facets. ResultsParticipants randomly assigned to the social exclusion condition (i.e., receiving 2 of 30 possible throws) reported significantly higher post-Cyberball state BD and significant happiness/energy level/self-confidence deficits compared to peers in a social inclusion condition (i.e., receiving 12 out of 30 throws). A hierarchical regression analysis indicated social exclusion condition membership and trait FNAE elevations, but not their interaction, were significant predictors of higher state BD scores, independent of the impact of gender. ConclusionsSocial exclusion experiences linked to physical appearance are a significant causal influence on increases in state BD and positive mood decrements among young Chinese adults.

The Spirituality of Carceral Citizenship: “Making Your Test Your Testimony”

Through participant observation of the redemption‐focused identity work of formerly incarcerated citizens affiliated with an urban faith‐based nonprofit organization run by ex‐offenders, this paper examines religiously motivated desistance among eighteen male respondents who attribute lasting desistance to intense religiosity. Recent research portrays the “identity work” of criminal justice‐involved citizens as “narrative labor” fraught with capricious experiences of social rejection and “uncanny” patterns of discrimination and exclusion. Drawing from eight years of participant observation and adopting methodologies of “lived religion” and “appreciative inquiry,” life‐history interviews reveal three “frames” of “performative speech” through which religious narrative labor helps signal a “disavowal and recasting” of criminal identities: “coming out of the desert” {learning not to hide}, “bringing it to the altar” {help‐seeking through religiosity}, and “making your test your testimony” {using testimonial storytelling for status elevation}. Prolific integration of Christian scripture into personal narratives mirrors the Identity Theory of Desistance. The paper deepens understanding of how religious narrative labor is performed by ex‐offenders enduring carceral citizenship, arguing for more direct exploration of religiosity by criminologists.

Narrating Paradox Affects: Unaccompanied Minor Asylum-Seekers in Austria

Asylum-seeking unaccompanied children and youngsters are situated at the crossroads between exclusionary and repressive asylum policies, on the one hand, and relatively inclusive and caring child welfare policies, on the other. This is the ‘asylum-child welfare paradox’ (Dursun and Sauer 2021). In this article, we explore the role of affect, feelings, and emotions in how unaccompanied minors respond to and process but also co-construct and resist this structural paradox through their ‘affective narratives’ (Bargetz and Eggers 2022). Based on qualitative interviews conducted with (former) unaccompanied minors in Austria in 2015, we observe that minors mobilize a set of feelings of fear, disappointment, frustration, and uncertainty due to experiences of rejection or loss of control; but unaccompanied minors also express feelings of confidence, joy, hope, and solidarity vis-à-vis their new environment and their future. Furthermore, the highly affective issues of belonging and non-belonging to their host country, of proximity and distance to other human beings hold an important place in their narratives as well as the ordering of time. We conclude that, rather than merely reacting to paradoxes that structure their social positions, minors actively shape such paradoxes and render them tangible and workable by means of narrating contradictory feelings and emotions and by mobilizing affectivity.

Feeling the weight of the water: young nonbinary individuals and their strategies for manoeuvring through a binary world

ABSTRACT Studies of transgender individuals often focus on the transgressive nature of their identities and practices or on experiences of transphobia, rejection and violence. Rather than focusing on transgression or marginalization, this paper offers insight into practical knowledge, presenting a feel for the game that young nonbinary individuals develop out of social necessity, as the social world, with its gender binary social structures, remains resistant to nonbinary identities and practices. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 12 nonbinary participants in Slovenia and Bourdieu’s concept of practical knowledge, this paper analyses skilful practical strategies for coping with anticipated and experienced misrecognition. These strategies encompass tactful playing along with the binary rules of the game, pushing the rules into a state of limbo and directly engaging and confronting the rules of the game. Moreover, a differentiated domain of strategies emerges, according to the parameters of safety, anticipation of achieving recognition and affective investment in the relations. Overall, the data show that nonbinary individuals are skilful agents who apply a range of practical strategies to manoeuvre through a gender binary world. The article enables insight into young people as actively engaging with objective conditions that are not of their making.

External Minority Stress, Gender Dysphoria, and Capability for Suicide Among Transgender Adults: A Daily Diary Study.

This study analyzed whether external gender-related minority stress (i.e., discrimination, rejection, and violence) and gender dysphoria contribute to same-day and next-day acquired capability for suicide (ACS) in a sample of transgender adults residing in the southeastern United States. A sample of transgender participants (n = 38, 84.2% White, average age = 28.6 years) residing in the southeastern United States completed daily surveys on discrimination, rejection, violence, gender dysphoria, and ACS over 30 days (n = 836 of the 1,140 surveys sent out were completed). External minority stress (i.e., rejection, discrimination, and violence) was very common in this sample. External minority stress experiences were reported on 16% of the completed daily surveys, and 68% of the sample reported experiencing such stress at least once over the 30-day study period. Similarly, gender dysphoria occurred on 37.2% of the completed days and was experienced on at least 1 day by 78.9% of the participants over the 30-day survey period. Multilevel modeling showed daily experiences of discrimination and rejection, but not gender dysphoria, were positively associated with same-day ACS. Violence trended toward significance in correlating with same-day capability for suicide. Neither external minority stress nor gender dysphoria were associated with next-day ACS while controlling for acquired capability reported on the previous day. These preliminary data support proximal associations of external gender minority stress with same-day, but not next-day, ACS. Findings from this study advance understanding of how anti-transgender discrimination and violence contribute to increased capability for suicide in a population at increased risk for suicide.

“A kingdom of isolation” or the conceptualisation of the notion <loneliness> in the animated film titled Frozen

This article discusses the conceptualisations of the notion ‘loneliness’ in the film titled Frozen(2013), directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. The study employs the cognitive methodology coupled with the media linguistic perspective. Multimodal metaphors and their functions in the narrative of the film have a special place in the analysis. The aim of the study is to analyse the aforemenƟ oned animated film in terms of what components of the conceptual structure of ‘loneliness’ were shown by its authors, what domains found in language they invoked, and what new contents related to the subject matter they used. The text shows that loneliness in Frozen is conceptualised as singleness, lack of company, lack of love, otherness, freedom, escape, experience of loss, rejection, closure, darkness, cold, and emptiness. A special image of the analysed notion emerges from two metaphors: LONELINESS in ICE‘›, LIONELINESS is a ‘CLOSED DOOR.

Excitatory Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal Cortex Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Increases Social Anxiety.

Social exclusion refers to the experience of rejection by one or more people during a social event and can induce pain-related sensations. Cyberball, a computer program, is one of the most common tools for analyzing social exclusion. Regions of the brain that underlie social pain include networks linked to the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Specifically, self-directed negative socially induced exclusion is associated with changes in DLPFC activity. Direct manipulation of this area may provide a better understanding of how the DLPFC can influence the perception of social exclusion and determine a causal role of the DLPFC. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied to both the left and right DLPFC to gauge different reactions to the Cyberball experience. It was found that there were elevated exclusion indices following right DLPFC rTMS; participants consistently felt more excluded when the right DLPFC was excited. This may relate to greater feelings of social pain when the right DLPFC is manipulated. These data demonstrate that direct manipulation of the DLPFC results in changes in responses to social exclusion.

Diakonaat en die Afrikaanssprekende AGS van SA

The diaconate and the Afrikaans-speaking Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa. The aim is to discuss the development of the diaconate in the Afrikaans-speaking white Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM) in order to examine its effectiveness. This is done on the basis of a comparative literature analysis. To understand this development, the church’s early antipathy towards established mainline churches must be understood, born out of the pentecostal movement’s self-definition and experience of rejection and discrimination. One consequence was that all traditional offices were denied, including the office of minister, elder and deacon. Early members were generally poor, like most other Afrikaners. Yet they supported each other and helped where possible. Their assistance excluded people of colour. There was no organised diaconate until the AFM was eventually forced by reality to institutionalise. From this a Welfare Department was born in time which also organised welfare work through Dorcas councils at regional and parish levels. The Welfare Department also established and administered old age and children’s homes. In general, only women served on Dorcas councils while the congregational council (church council) consisted only of men. Still, welfare work was mainly limited to the ‘own people’. In the run-up to unification, the ‘white’ AFM relegated all power to the local level as much as possible to protect their own identity. After unification in 1996, as a result of this process, local congregations were again left on their own to do welfare work. At the same time, many Afrikaans-speaking congregations exclusively use Afrikaans in their worship services, excluding non-Afrikaans speaking people of colour. As a result, their welfare work is mainly limited to white people. The importance of the conclusion is that the church needs to address deficiencies in the diaconate task, which is essential to the church’s mission.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The evaluation of the diaconate in the AFM implies a new welfare strategy and redesign of the diaconate based on the church-historical description, exegesis of relevant Scripture passages and description of the current South African scene marred by social inequality and the occurrence of widespread poverty to relate to the church’s task.

The role of self-compassion in the relationship between rejection and unhealthy eating: An ecological momentary assessment study

Available studies suggest that experiencing interpersonal rejection heightens negative affect and, in turn, triggers unhealthy eating behaviors. Elucidating individual differences that attenuate the negative consequences of rejection could inform interventions targeting unhealthy eating. This study examined the buffering role of self-compassion in the relationship between rejection experiences and unhealthy eating behaviors, defined as snacking on junk food and overeating. Two-hundred undergraduate students (50% women) completed ecological momentary assessments measuring rejection experiences, emotions, and unhealthy eating seven times a day for 10 consecutive days. Self-compassion was measured after the 10-day assessment period. Reports of rejection were low (2.6%) in our university sample. Multilevel mediation analyses examined whether the relationship between experiencing rejection and subsequent unhealthy eating was mediated by negative affect. Multilevel moderated mediation analyses further considered whether relationships between rejection and negative affect and between negative affect and unhealthy eating were moderated by self-compassion. Experiencing rejection predicted more unhealthy eating behaviors at the next time point, and this relationship was fully explained by increases in negative affect. Participants with high levels of self-compassion experienced less intense negative affect after rejection and reported less unhealthy eating behaviors when feeling negative emotions, compared to their counterparts with lower levels of self-compassion. The indirect effect of rejection on unhealthy eating was moderated by self-compassion, and there was no statistically significant relationship between rejection and unhealthy eating behaviors among highly self-compassionate participants. Findings suggest that cultivating self-compassion may help attenuate the negative impact of rejection experiences on emotions and unhealthy eating behaviors.