The Relationship of Self- and Other-Compassion with Body Dissatisfaction Open Access

Abstract

Abstract
The Relationship of Self- and Other-Compassion with Body Dissatisfaction
By Deirdre A. Rudat
A recent influx of Eastern philosophical thought to Western psychology has brought
attention to the relationship between self-compassion, a Buddhist concept, and self-
esteem. Self-compassion has been linked to more positive and fewer negative
psychological outcomes (e.g., narcissism) compared to self-esteem, theoretically because
self-worth is less contingent upon circumstances and would be more stable. The role of
self-esteem in the eating disorder literature has been investigated, but little has been done
to examine self-compassion. The positive psychological benefits of self-compassion
suggest that would be negatively correlated to body dissatisfaction, one of the precursors
to eating disorders. Further, self-compassion was hypothesized to be negatively
correlated with body dissatisfaction even after controlling for self-esteem and depressive
symptoms. The discrepancy between self-compassion and other-compassion is also
investigated to determine its relationship to body dissatisfaction. Seventy-one female
college students participated in a self-report-based study with a correlational design.
Results indicate that self-compassion is significantly negatively related to body
dissatisfaction, even after controlling for self-esteem and depressive symptoms. The
discrepancy between self-compassion and other-compassion is significantly correlated to
body dissatisfaction, although it does not remain significant after controlling for self-
esteem and depressive symptoms. Other-compassion is not significantly related to body
dissatisfaction. Implications of these findings for Fairburn's model of eating disorders
are discussed.

The Relationship of Self- and Other-Compassion with Body Dissatisfaction
By
Deirdre A. Rudat
B.S., B.A., University of Georgia, 2008
Advisor: Linda Craighead, Ph.D.
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the
James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Psychology
2011

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction

Self-compassion

Self-esteem

Self-esteem and eating disorders

Depression and eating disorders

Other-compassion

Clinical significance

Hypotheses

Method

Participants

Measures

Procedure

Recruitment

Counterbalancing design

Analyses

Step 1: Zero-order correlations

Step 2: Partial correlations

Results

Descriptive statistics

Self-compassion measures

Self-compassion and body dissatisfaction

Body dissatisfaction and the discrepancy between other-compassion

Discussion

Limitations

Future Research

References

Appendix

About this Master's Thesis

Rights statement

• Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.

School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Degree	MA
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Clinical Psychology, General Psychology, Personality
Keyword	eating disorders other-compassion compassion self-compassion body dissatisfaction
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Craighead, Linda, Emory University
Committee Members	Barsalou, Lawrence, Emory University Duke, Marshall P, Emory University

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