The Relationship Among the Components of Self-compassion: A Pilot Study Using a Compassionate Writing Intervention to En
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The Relationship Among the Components of Self‑compassion: A Pilot Study Using a Compassionate Writing Intervention to Enhance Self‑kindness, Common Humanity, and Mindfulness Aljoscha Dreisoerner1 · Nina Mareen Junker1 · Rolf van Dick1
© The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Self-compassion has been theorized to have three components, each with a positive pole and a negative pole: self-kindness versus self-judgment, common humanity versus isolation, and mindfulness versus over-identification. Neff (Self Identity 2:85–101, 2003a) proposes that they mutually influence each other, however, this proposition has not been tested yet. We conducted a pilot study to see if improvements from training one component spilled over to the other two—and whether these trainings had an impact on wellbeing. 80 participants completed 8 weeks of self-compassionate writing exercises to enhance either self-kindness, common humanity, or mindfulness. Trait self-compassion was assessed using the six-factor model of the self-compassion scale. To address issues of alpha-error-inflation, the false discovery rate was fixed at 5%, and critical p values were adjusted accordingly. Participants in the mindfulness condition reported increased total self-compassion (p = .009), which was accompanied by increased self-kindness (p = .027) and lower isolation (p = .045). Participants in the common humanity condition reported improved total self-compassion (p = .018), lower over-identification (p = .045), and higher life-satisfaction (p = .049). The training in self-kindness failed to improve self-kindness or any other factor. These findings provide initial evidence that the components of self-compassion mutually enhance each other. They also emphasize the importance of mindfulness within the conceptualization of self-compassion. Keywords Self-compassion · Self-kindness · Common humanity · Mindfulness · Compassionate writing exercises · Well-being
* Aljoscha Dreisoerner [email protected]‑frankfurt.de 1
Institute of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Theodor‑W.‑Adorno‑Platz 6, 60323 Frankfurt, Germany
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1 Introduction In Buddhist philosophy, compassion means being touched by suffering and having the wish to help, regardless of whether the object of compassion is the self or someone else (Davidson and Harrington 2002). However, since Buddhist thought also rejects the idea of the self, it is unsurprising that Western cultures mostly associate compassion with compassion for others (Varela et al. 1991). When Neff (2003a) introduced self-compassion as a kind and understanding attitude towards the self in times of personal failure or emotional pain, the concept quickly gained popularity in scientific journals. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have linked self-compassion with various important outcomes of psychological functioning, such as positive affect, optimism, and overall well-being (Ferrari et al. 2019; Zessin et al. 2015). Moreover, self-compassion has been associated with less anxiety, depress
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