Poster #37 - Positive Development in Adolescence: Reciprocal Links Between Facets of Self-Compassion and Self-Regulation

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Cognitive Processes

Integrative Statement

Extant research on mindfulness-based programs suggests that practice has benefits for both self-compassion and self-regulation (Bergen-Cico & Krishnakumar, 2017; Razza, Bergen-Cico, & Raymond, 2015). More recently, studies have begun to examine the associations between these two constructs. For example, self-compassion may link to self-regulation by facilitating emotional control during failure and freeing psychological resources to focus on positive coping strategies (Barnard & Curry, 2011; Finlay-Jones, Neff, Hsieh, & Dejitterat, 2005). In addition, self-regulation may be critical for self-compassion, as it may enable individuals to stop negative thoughts and to use cognitive reappraisal. At present, the majority of this research has been cross-sectional and limited to global measures of self-compassion and self-regulation. Thus, this study aims to investigate the reciprocal interplay between the subcomponents of these two constructs using longitudinal data.
The present sample includes 771 students (male= 348; female= 423) with an age range from 15 to 19 years old (M = 16.59, SD = .74) who were recruited from three high schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Participants participated in a 12-week school-based mindfulness intervention and completed the Self-compassion Scale-Short Form (Raes, Pommier, Neff, & Van Gucht, 2011) and the Adolescent Self-regulation Inventory (Moilanen, 2007) at pretest (T1) and post-test (T2). A series of cross-lagged competing models were examined using AMOS. Positive dimensions of self-compassion (mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity) and two facets of self-regulation (short-term and long-term) were entered into a single model. The baseline model with autocorrelations and synchronous correlations was assessed first. The second model was identical to the baseline model but included additional structural paths from short/ long-term self-regulation at T1 to three dimensions of self-compassion at T2. The third model was identical to the baseline model but included paths from the dimensions of self-compassion at T1 to the short/ long-term self-regulation at T2. Finally, the reciprocal model was tested, which included all paths of the previous models (as shown in Figure 1). Age and gender were included in all models as control variables. A similar series of models were run for the negative dimensions of self-compassion (self-judgment, over-identification, and isolation) and short/long-term self-regulation.
Overall, the results suggest that the models with only paths from self-regulation to self-compassion fit the data best, with the highest CFI (.996 and .978 respectively) and the lowest RMSEA (.025 and .068 respectively). The regressive coefficients indicate that long-term self-regulation at T1 was positively associated with mindfulness and self-kindness at T2 and that short-term self-regulation at T1 was negatively associated with self-judgment, over-identification, and isolation at T2 (see Table 1). These findings suggest that self-regulation precedes and enables the actualization of self-compassion. The longitudinal design of this study provides evidence that self-regulation serves as a fundamental pillar of self-compassion. Specifically, short-term regulation may help stop self-judgment and negative ruminating thoughts when facing stress at the moment. In contrast, long-term regulation may promote mindfulness and self-kindness important for future endeavors. This study has significant implications for understanding the specific mechanisms underlying mindfulness-based practice and its benefits for adolescents’ psychological well-being.

Authors

• Rachel Razza, Human development and Family Science, Syracuse University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ying Zhang, Human development and Family Science, Syracuse University
  Presenting Author

• Qiu Wang, Department of Higher Education, Syracuse University
  Non-Presenting Author