Self-Compassion in an Interpersonal Context: The Effect of Belongingness

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2017-05

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The Ohio State University

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Abstract

This experiment examined the relational benefits of self-compassion. Self-compassion emphasizes kindness and compassion toward oneself when one encounters difficulties or failures. Recent evidence has suggested that self-compassion has adaptive benefits for psychological functioning. However, self-compassion also has interpersonal benefits; for example, it associates positively with compassionate goals. Because most previous findings were correlational, the current study tested the causal link between repeated self-compassionate exercises and increased compassionate goals by asking participants to write letters to themselves imagining they were their own friends. I hypothesized that the self-compassion exercise would increase compassionate goals through increased belongingness. A longitudinal survey study recruited undergraduate students (N=147) and randomly assigned them to one, three, or five sessions of the self-compassion exercise. The results showed that more sessions of the self compassion exercise increased belongingness without affecting self-compassion. The increased belongingness predicted participants’ compassionate goals, forgiveness, self-esteem, and positive affect, and lowered participants’ self-criticism, loneliness and negative affect in the moment. Thus, self-compassion indirectly predicted improved interpersonal and intrapersonal well-being by increasing belongingness. The results suggest that self-compassion exercises might be an effective tool to increase belongingness.

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Undergraduate Research Scholarship by Arts and Sciences Honors Program: received $5,500 scholarship for honors thesis proposal

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self-compassion, belonging, friendship, interpersonal goals

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