Objectives
The aim of these two studies was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program, an 8-week workshop designed to train people to be more self-compassionate.

Methods
Study 1 was a pilot study that examined change scores in self-compassion, mindfulness, and various wellbeing outcomes among community adults (N = 21; mean [M] age = 51.26, 95% female). Study 2 was a randomized controlled trial that compared a treatment group (N = 25; M age = 51.21; 78% female) with a waitlist control group (N = 27; M age = 49.11; 82% female).

Results
Study 1 found significant pre/post gains in self-compassion, mindfulness, and various wellbeing outcomes. Study 2 found that compared with the control group, intervention participants reported significantly larger increases in self-compassion, mindfulness, and wellbeing. Gains were maintained at 6-month and 1-year follow-ups.

Conclusions
The MSC program appears to be effective at enhancing self-compassion, mindfulness, and wellbeing.

/pdf/a-pilot-study-and-randomized-controlled-trial-of-the-mindful-5d5u2v613p.pdf

A pilot study and randomized controlled trial of the mindful self-compassion program.

Five studies investigated the cognitive and emotional processes by which self-compassionate people deal with unpleasant life events. In the various studies, participants reported on negative events in their daily lives, responded to hypothetical scenarios, reacted to interpersonal feedback, rated their or others’ videotaped performances in an awkward situation, and reflected on negative personal experiences. Results from Study 1 showed that self-compassion predicted emotional and cognitive reactions to negative events in everyday life, and Study 2 found that self-compassion buffered people against negative self-feelings when imagining distressing social events. In Study 3, self-compassion moderated negative emotions after receiving ambivalent feedback, particularly for participants who were low in self-esteem. Study 4 found that low-self-compassionate people undervalued their videotaped performances relative to observers. Study 5 experimentally induced a self-compassionate perspective and found that selfcompassion leads people to acknowledge their role in negative events without feeling overwhelmed with negative emotions. In general, these studies suggest that self-compassion attenuates people’s reactions to negative events in ways that are distinct from and, in some cases, more beneficial than self-esteem.

https://self-compassion.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/LearyJPSP.pdf

Self-compassion and reactions to unpleasant self-relevant events: The implications of treating oneself kindly.

https://self-compassion.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/JRP.pdf

Self-compassion and adaptive psychological functioning.

https://self-compassion.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/metaanalysis.pdf

Exploring compassion: A meta-analysis of the association between self-compassion and psychopathology

https://self-compassion.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/JRPbrief.pdf

An examination of self-compassion in relation to positive psychological functioning and personality traits

Two studies examined the relationship between self-compassion, academic achievement goals, and coping with perceived academic failure among undergraduates. Selfcompassion entails being kind to oneself in instances of failure, perceiving one’s experiences as part of the larger human experience, and holding painful feelings in mindful awareness. Study 1 (N = 222) found that self-compassion was positively associated with mastery goals and negatively associated with performance goals, a relationship that was mediated by the lesser fear of failure and greater perceived competence of self-compassionate individuals. Study 2 confirmed these findings among students who perceived their recent midterm grade as a failure (N = 110), with results also indicating that self-compassion was positively associated with emotion-focused coping strategies and negatively associated with avoidance-oriented strategies.

/pdf/self-compassion-achievement-goals-and-coping-with-academic-48afvypuse.pdf

Self-compassion, Achievement Goals, and Coping with Academic Failure.

Self-compassion is a self-attitude construct derived from Buddhist psychology (Neff, 2003a). It entails being kind rather than harshly critical toward oneself, perceiving one's experiences as part of the larger human experience, and holding painful feelings in mindful awareness. Given that self-compassion is an Asian construct, this study compares self-compassion levels in the United States, Thailand, and Taiwan. Results indicate that self-compassion is highest in Thailand and lowest in Taiwan, with the United States falling in between. Interdependence is linked to self-compassion in Thailand only, whereas independence is linked to self-compassion in Taiwan and the United States. Results suggest that self-compassion levels in these societies are linked to specific cultural features rather than general East—West differences. However, self-compassion is significantly associated with well-being in all three cultures.

/pdf/self-compassion-and-self-construal-in-the-united-states-4c9moi0cju.pdf

Ya Ping Hsieh

Papers

Self-compassion, Achievement Goals, and Coping with Academic Failure.

Self-Compassion and Self-Construal in the United States, Thailand, and Taiwan