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Introduction

Self-compassion involves being kind to oneself in the face of adversity or personal inadequacies, framing life experiences in the context of a common humanity, and remaining mindful of negative emotions so that they are not suppressed or ruminated on (Neff, 2007). Previous research has found that self-compassion is significantly connected with several positive emotions and behaviors such as happiness, optimism, agreeableness, extroversion, wisdom and more (Neff, 2003; Neff, 2006; Neff, Rude, & Kirkpatrick, 2006). In addition, self-compassion is negatively correlated with isolation, depression and anxiety (Neff, 2003). Self-compassion has also shown to correlate with coping techniques during negative social situations, based on personality and individual differences (Leary, Tate, Adams, Batts, & Hancock, 2007). The current study analyzed the relationships between selfcompassion with prosocial constructs and with health.

Results
A correlational analysis revealed (see Table 1) that selfcompassion is strongly correlated with trust, gratitude, altruism, love, social support, maternal and paternal bonding, self-enhancing humor, general health, sleep quality, and stress regulation. These measures tended to positively correlate with self-kindness, common humanity and mindfulness, and negatively correlate with self-judgment, isolation and overidentification aspects of self-compassion.
SelfSelfSelfCommon Isolation Mindfulness OverCompassion Kindness Judgment Humanity ID

Conclusions
Altogether, this data shows how self-compassion is related to prosocial profiles and to well-being.

Methods & Materials


Participants included 109 undergraduate students at Oregon State University (41 males, 68 females). Prior to coming to the lab, participants filled out the following scales:

Trust Gratitude Altruism Love Social Support Maternal Bonding

0.30*** 0.29*** 0.28** 0.38*** 0.38*** 0.24** 0.25**

0.26*** 0.11 0.11 0.35*** 0.21* 0.13 0.03 0.36*** 0.17 0.11 0.25*

-0.17 -0.31*** -0.21* -0.17 -0.41*** -0.30*** -0.31*** -0.06 -0.22* -0.14 -0.24**

0.20* 0.16 0.20* 0.33*** 0.26** 0.11 0.06 0.35*** 0.02 0.20* 0.27**

-0.24* -0.19* -0.18 -0.29*** -0.26** -0.25** -0.37*** -0.20*** -0.34*** -0.35*** -0.24**

0.29*** 0.24* 0.22* 0.22* 0.33*** 0.14 0.11 0.38*** 0.19* 0.29*** 0.23*

-0.15 -0.22** -0.21* -0.25** -0.24* -0.11 -0.22* -0.15 -0.26** -0.27** -0.36***

References
Buysse, D. J., Reynolds, C. F., Monk, T. H., Berman, S. R., & Kupfer, D. J. (1989). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI): A new instrument for psychiatric research and practice. Psychiatry Research, 28(2), 193-213. Cohen, S., Mermelstein, R., Kamarck, T., & Hoberman, H. (1985). Measuring the functional components of social support. In I. G. Sarason & B. R. Sarason (Eds.), Social support: Theory, research, and application. The Hague, Holland: Martinus Nijhoff. Costa, P. T, Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). NEO PI-R professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources. Gross, J. J., & John O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 85(2), 348-362. Leary, M. R., Tate, E. B., Adams, C. E., & Allen, A. B. (2006). Self-compassion and reactions to unpleasant self-relevant events: The implications of treating oneself kindly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 92(5), 887-904. Martin, R. A., Puhlik-Doris, P., Larsen, G., Gray, J., & Weir, K. (2003). Individual differences in uses of humor and their relation to psychological well-being: Development of the humor styles questionnaire. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 48-75. McCullough, M. E., Emmons, R. A., & Tsang, J. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 112-127. Neff, K. D. (2003). The development and validation of a scale to measure. Self and Identity. 2(3), 223-250. Neff, K. D. (2006). Self-compassion and adapative psychological functioning. Journal of Research in Personality. 41(1), 139-154. Neff, K.D., Rude, S. S., & Kirkpatrick, K. L. (2006). An examination of self-compassion in relation to positive psychological functioning and personality traits. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 908-916. Parker, G., Tupling, H., and Brown, L.B. (1979) A Parental Bonding Instrument. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 1979, 52, 1-10. Saturn, S. R., Saslow L. R., & John O. P. (unpublished scale). Shiota, M. N., Keltner, D., & John, O. P. (2006). Positive emotion dispositions differentially associated with big five personality and attachment style. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(2), 61-71. doi:10.1080/17439760500510833 Ware JJ, Sherbourne CD. The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). I. Conceptual framework and item selection. Medical Care 1992; 30:473-83 Yamagishi, T., & Yamagishi, M. (1994). Trust and commitment in the United States and Japan. Motivation and Emotion. 18(2), 129166.

Paternal Bonding Self-enhancing 0.31*** humor Health 0.25** 0.33*** 0.39*** Sleep Quality

Trust (Yamagishi T. & Yamagishi M., 1994) Altruism (Costa, & McCrae, 1992) Sleep Quality (Buysee, Reynolds, Monk, Berman, & Kupfer, 1989) General Health (Ware & Sherbourne, 1992)

Gratitude (McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002). Self-Enhancing Humor (Martin, Puhlik-Doris, Larsen, Gray, & Weir, 2003) Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (Cohen, Mermelstein, Kamarack, & Hoberman, 1985)

Stress Regulation

Table 1. Spearman correlations of self-compassion and its six components with prosocial dispositions. *p<.05 **p<.01 ***p<.005

Love, Compassion, & Amusement (Shiota, Keltner, & John, 2006)


Maternal & Paternal Bonding (Parker, Tupling, & Brown, 1979)

Stress Regulation (Saturn, Saslow, & John, unpublished) modeled after Gross & John (2003)

Acknowledgements
NSF CAREER Grant BCS-1151905 Fetzer Institute Oregon State University start-up and Provost funds

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