Is higher self-compassion related to enhanced social func-tioning?
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Artist Statement
Self-compassion has become a popular topic of research in psychology since the publication of Kristen Neff’s seminal articles in 2003 (Neff, 2003a; Neff 2003b). Research demonstrates that the construct, which involves responding to oneself with kindness, balance, and understanding when faced with personal failure, consistently relates to well-being (Barnard & Curry 2011), which underscores its significance as a target for therapeutic intervention. Most extant research has focused on the intrapersonal benefits of self-compassion, such as its positive relationships with happiness, optimism, positive emotions (Neff & Vonk, 2009), and life satisfaction (Neff, Kirkpatrick, & Rude, 2009). Meanwhile, little research has addressed how engaging in self-compassion may be beneficial to one’s relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether self-compassion is related to social connectedness and interpersonal competence. 231 participants from a university in the pacific northwest completed validated measures of self-compassion (the Self-Compassion Scale; SCS; Neff, 2003b), social connectedness (Social Connectedness Scale-Revised (SCS-R; Lee, Draper, & Lee, 2001), and interpersonal competence (Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire (ICQ; Buhrmester, Furman, Wittenberg, & Reis, 1988). Data analysis was performed using correlations and simultaneous multiple regression.
Regarding existing knowledge about these constructs, there is strong evidence that social connectedness (one’s enduring sense of closeness with their social world; e.g. Lee, Draper, & Lee, 2001; Lee & Robbins, 1998; Mauss et al., 2011; Neff, 2003b) and interpersonal competence (e.g., Fiori, Antonucci, & Cortina, 2006; Berkman & Syme, 1979; Delongis, Folkman, & Lazarus, 1988) are positively related to well-being in a variety of ways. Meanwhile, responding to oneself with self-compassion may allow a person to be more present and attentive to others in interpersonal contexts, rather than being self-critical and focused on one’s own manner of engaging. Self-compassion was examined in terms of a global construct and its six subscales, “(a) self-kindness—extending kindness and understanding to oneself (b) common humanity—seeing one’s experiences as part of the larger human experience, and (c) mindfulness—holding one’s painful thoughts and feelings in balanced awareness,” as well as each of their opposites (self-judgment versus self-kindness, isolation versus common humanity, and over-identification versus mindfulness; Neff, 2003b). Our results indicated that: 1) self-compassion and all of its subscales are significantly related to social connectedness, 2) the self-kindness and isolation subscales of self-compassion are predictive of social connectedness, 3) people reporting a greater tendency toward self-compassion were more likely to report initiating interpersonal interactions with others, engaging in more self-disclosure, and offering more emotional support to others, and 4) the facets of self-compassion are significantly related to the initiation and self-disclosure domains of interpersonal competence, but have a more complex relationship with emotional support. These results lend further support to the importance of self-compassion to interpersonal functioning, underlie its importance to well-being overall, and substantiate its relevance as a target of therapeutic intervention.
Mentor Name
Jennifer Waltz
Is higher self-compassion related to enhanced social func-tioning?
UC 331
Self-compassion has become a popular topic of research in psychology since the publication of Kristen Neff’s seminal articles in 2003 (Neff, 2003a; Neff 2003b). Research demonstrates that the construct, which involves responding to oneself with kindness, balance, and understanding when faced with personal failure, consistently relates to well-being (Barnard & Curry 2011), which underscores its significance as a target for therapeutic intervention. Most extant research has focused on the intrapersonal benefits of self-compassion, such as its positive relationships with happiness, optimism, positive emotions (Neff & Vonk, 2009), and life satisfaction (Neff, Kirkpatrick, & Rude, 2009). Meanwhile, little research has addressed how engaging in self-compassion may be beneficial to one’s relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether self-compassion is related to social connectedness and interpersonal competence. 231 participants from a university in the pacific northwest completed validated measures of self-compassion (the Self-Compassion Scale; SCS; Neff, 2003b), social connectedness (Social Connectedness Scale-Revised (SCS-R; Lee, Draper, & Lee, 2001), and interpersonal competence (Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire (ICQ; Buhrmester, Furman, Wittenberg, & Reis, 1988). Data analysis was performed using correlations and simultaneous multiple regression.
Regarding existing knowledge about these constructs, there is strong evidence that social connectedness (one’s enduring sense of closeness with their social world; e.g. Lee, Draper, & Lee, 2001; Lee & Robbins, 1998; Mauss et al., 2011; Neff, 2003b) and interpersonal competence (e.g., Fiori, Antonucci, & Cortina, 2006; Berkman & Syme, 1979; Delongis, Folkman, & Lazarus, 1988) are positively related to well-being in a variety of ways. Meanwhile, responding to oneself with self-compassion may allow a person to be more present and attentive to others in interpersonal contexts, rather than being self-critical and focused on one’s own manner of engaging. Self-compassion was examined in terms of a global construct and its six subscales, “(a) self-kindness—extending kindness and understanding to oneself (b) common humanity—seeing one’s experiences as part of the larger human experience, and (c) mindfulness—holding one’s painful thoughts and feelings in balanced awareness,” as well as each of their opposites (self-judgment versus self-kindness, isolation versus common humanity, and over-identification versus mindfulness; Neff, 2003b). Our results indicated that: 1) self-compassion and all of its subscales are significantly related to social connectedness, 2) the self-kindness and isolation subscales of self-compassion are predictive of social connectedness, 3) people reporting a greater tendency toward self-compassion were more likely to report initiating interpersonal interactions with others, engaging in more self-disclosure, and offering more emotional support to others, and 4) the facets of self-compassion are significantly related to the initiation and self-disclosure domains of interpersonal competence, but have a more complex relationship with emotional support. These results lend further support to the importance of self-compassion to interpersonal functioning, underlie its importance to well-being overall, and substantiate its relevance as a target of therapeutic intervention.