Young women athletes' self-conscious emotions and self-compassion

Athletic environments subject athletes to evaluation not only on performance, but also on appearance (Krane et al., 2001). This likely facilitates self-conscious emotions, which have a self-evaluative focus (Leary, 2004; Tracy & Robins, 2004). However, self-compassion might serve as a buffer against the self-conscious emotions by countering self-evaluative processes. The purpose of this study was to explore the relations between self-conscious emotions (i.e., shame, guilt, authentic pride, and hubristic pride) and self-evaluative thoughts and behaviours (i.e., social physique anxiety, obligatory exercise, objectified body consciousness, fear of failure, and fear of negative evaluation) for young women aged 13 -18 involved in high school sport (N = 151). The role of self-compassion as a moderator variable between self-conscious emotions and self-evaluative thoughts and behaviours was also explored. Consistent with the contention that shame and hubristic pride may be less adaptive than guilt and authentic pride, shame and hubristic pride showed positive relations with fear of failure (r = .26 and .20, respectively) and fear of negative evaluation (r = .21 and .21, respectively). Hubristic pride was also positively related to objectified body consciousness (r = .32). Conversely, guilt and authentic pride showed negative relations with objectified body consciousness (r = -.20 and -.34, respectively). Authentic pride also showed negative relations to fear of failure (r = -.38) and fear of negative evaluation (r = -.37). Self-compassion was negatively related to shame (r = -.32) and positively related to authentic pride (r = .42), but had no relation with guilt and hubristic pride. Self-compassion was also negatively related with social physique anxiety (r = -.39), objectified body consciousness (r = -.34), fear of failure (r = -.38), and fear of negative evaluation (r = -.37). Additionally, self-compassion was found to explain variance beyond self-esteem on objectified body consciousness (∆R2 = .07), fear of failure (∆R2 = .11), and fear of negative evaluation (∆R2 = .06). A significant interaction effect was found with self-compassion on the relation between shame and obligatory exercise, suggesting that even moderate levels of self-compassion may help to buffer some negative effects of shame. Taken together, these results suggest that self-compassion might be an important resource for young women involved in sport in managing self-conscious emotions

Self-regulation as a Mediator of Mindfulness and Physical Activity: A Narrative Review

Mindfulness is gaining increased attention as a means of increasing physical activity (PA) participation. Given that only 15.4% of adult Canadians currently meet the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines (Colley et al., 2011), it is imperative to find ways to increase PA among adults. One way to do this is to promote self-regulation skills as self-regulation is among the top predictors of PA participation (Teixeira et al., 2015).  The purpose of this narrative review was to further understand the role of self-regulation as a potential mechanism by which mindfulness may be related to PA participation. Initially, 160 papers were identified by title for this review. After reading abstracts, 37 papers were identified as possibly relating to the topic of interest. Following full readings, 26 papers were included in the final review. Likely due to the novelty of this topic, there is limited research on the mechanisms by which mindfulness may be related to physical activity. Review of the literature suggests that self-regulation appears to be a promising mechanism by which mindfulness could improve physical activity participation (Shapiro et al., 2006; Samdal et al., 2017), as self-regulation has been shown to play an important role in behaviour change, however, other alternative mechanisms include improved self-efficacy, as well as improved satisfaction (Neace et al., 2020; Tsafou et al., 2016). The authors conclude that more research on the mechanisms of mindfulness on PA, specifically self-regulation as a mechanism, could foster more knowledgeable intervention practices, and consequently improve mindfulness-based interventions efficacy

Don't be so hard on yourself! Changes in self-compassion during the first year of university are associated with changes in well-being

Introduction  Well-being declines during the first year of university. We examined if change in self-compassion was indirectly related to change in well-being through change in psychological need satisfaction during the first year of university.  Methods  First year university students (N=189, 77.2% female) completed self-report questionnaires at the beginning of the first semester and approximately five months later. Path analysis and bootstrapping procedures were used to examine residualized change scores.  Results  Change in self-compassion was positively related to (ps<0.05) change in psychological need satisfaction (β=0.49) and negatively related to change in negative affect (β=−0.24). Change in psychological need satisfaction was positively associated (ps<0.05) with change in vitality (β=0.58) and change in positive affect (β=0.52) and negatively associated with change in negative affect (β=−0.29). Change in self-compassion was indirectly related to change in vitality (b=0.56, 95% bootstrapped bias corrected confidence interval (BcCI)[0.38, 0.77]), positive affect (b=0.41, 95%BcCI [0.27, 0.58]), and negative affect (b=−0.26, 95%BcCI[−0.41, −0.13]) through change in psychological need satisfaction.  Conclusions  During the first year of university, change in self-compassion was associated with change in well-being because self-compassion enhanced psychological need satisfaction. Results highlight the potential of enhancing self-compassion during first year university to help mitigate student declines in well-being

A comparison of placebo and nocebo effects on objective and subjective postural stability: a double-edged sword?

Background: Positive expectations (i.e., placebo effect) can improve postural control during quiet standing. This raises an important question: if postural control is susceptible to positive expectations, is it possible to elicit the opposite, a decline in postural stability, simply by suggesting a performance impairment (i.e., nocebo) will take place? Yet no studies have examined the nocebo effect on balance performance. To better understand both phenomena, comparative studies, which include both placebo and nocebo conditions, are needed. Method: Forty-two healthy adults were initially assessed for objective (center of pressure movement) and subjective (perceived) postural stability and performance expectations. Participants were then randomly assigned in equal numbers to a placebo (positive expectation), nocebo (negative expectation) or control (no suggestion) group. Participants in the placebo/nocebo groups were deceptively administered an inert capsule described as a potent supplement which would either positively or negatively influence their balance performance. Objective and subjective postural stability, and performance expectations were reassessed 20 min later. Results: The nocebo procedure evoked an increase in COP sway movements and reduced perceived stability compared to a control group. The placebo group presented with reductions COP sway movements and increased perceived stability following expectation manipulation. Compared to the control group, the placebo group showed a significantly higher performance expectation whilst the nocebo group showed a significantly lower performance expectation. Regression analyses also revealed that performance expectations following the placebo/nocebo procedure significantly predicted perceptions of postural instability (i.e., perceived performance), accounting for around 50% of the variance. These results remained even when controlling for actual performance (i.e., objective postural stability). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that positive and negative performance expectations evoked by instructional manipulation can profoundly influence both objective and subjective postural stability. Postural control—and perceptions regarding such—are clearly susceptible to expectation manipulation, which could have important practical implications and repercussions on testing, training interventions and rehabilitation programs. Positive and negative expectancies are a double-edged sword for postural control

Self-compassion, social rank, and psychological distress in athletes of varying competitive levels

Self-Compassion may be seen as a concept contrary to the aims of athletes engaged in competitive sport. This could be accentuated at more elite levels, where athletes may view concepts like self-criticism and self-judgement as more important for improvement. The current study aimed to better understand how athletes of different competitive levels (from social to international) relate to concepts of self-compassion. Further, we aimed to explore how factors relating to social rank and self-compassion contribute to psychological distress. Cross-sectional online survey. An online survey was distributed, including the following validated questionnaires: Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales, the Self-Compassion Scale, Fears of Compassion Scales, Social Comparison Scale, Forms of Self-Criticising/Attacking & Self-Reassuring Scale, and the Striving to Avoid Inferiority Scale. Two hundred and fifty-three participants responded to the survey, including 115 recreational and 79 competitive athletes. There were no differences between groups on any measure of compassion or social rank. In a multiple linear regression model, lower self-compassion, higher fears of compassion (for self), and higher feelings of inadequacy predicted more pronounced psychological distress in athletes. Contrary to expectation, the results suggest that even highly elite athletes may be open to using self-compassion. Given that reduced self-compassion and sense of social rank contributed to psychological distress in athletes, the results suggest that compassion-based approaches to treating psychological distress in this population may be valid.N/

Perfectionism and Coping with Injury in Marathon Runners: A Test of the 2×2 Model of Perfectionism

Perfectionism dimensions have previously demonstrated different relationships with coping strategies in sport. The purpose of the present study was to extend existing research by examining the interactive effects of perfectionism dimensions on strategies employed by marathon runners to cope with injury. This involved testing the hypotheses of the 2×2 model of perfectionism in marathon runners. Marathon runners (n = 224, female n = 81, M age = 39.77 years, SD = 9.50 years) completed measures capturing four sub-types of perfectionism (pure personal standards perfectionism, pure evaluative concerns perfectionism, mixed perfectionism, and non-perfectionism) and strategies for coping with injury (problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and avoidance coping). Moderated regression analyses provided support for all four hypotheses of the 2×2 model for problem-focused coping, one hypothesis for emotion-focused coping, and one hypothesis for avoidance coping. The findings suggest that problem-focused coping is higher for pure personal standards perfectionism compared to the three other sub-types of perfectionism, emotion-focused coping is higher for pure personal standards perfectionism compared to non-perfectionism, and avoidance coping is similar across all sub-types of perfectionism. The results provide an initial indication of the potential of the 2×2 model of perfectionism to explain differences in the use of coping strategies in context of marathon running injury

Self-compassion as a resource to manage stress in women athletes

Competitive sport presents unique issues that can create a variety of demands on athletes. The purpose of this dissertation was to further understanding of self-compassion in women athletes managing challenging situations in sport. Key focuses included the fit of selfcompassion within the stress and coping process, relation of self-compassion with sport-relevant variables, and self-compassion intervention effectiveness with women athletes. Three studies worked towards accomplishing this objective. The first study took a phenomenological orientation to explore women athletes’ experiences with setbacks and accompanying coping responses, including the role of self-compassion. Thematic analysis revealed poor performance, performance plateau, and injury were common setback experiences. Managing setbacks involved having a positive approach, managing self-criticism, using social support, and striving for balance. Results suggested fostering self-compassionate perspectives may positively add to coping skills resources through targeting issues the athletes identified as challenging, such as rumination and self-criticism in pursuit of perfection. Given these issues, and the conceptual links to coping expressed in the initial study, a second prospective study examined the relations between self-compassion, perfectionism, and the stress and coping process. Self-compassion was negatively related to social evaluative aspects of perfectionism, threat appraisal, avoidance coping, and negative affect, and positively related to control appraisal. Though no support was found for self-compassion as a moderator variable in the relation between goal progress and different aspects of the stress and coping process, results indicated that both goal progress and self-compassion were important individual predictors of the stress process. These results strengthen self-compassion’s theoretical and empirical connection to evaluative processes and coping in athletes. The third study evaluated a self-compassion intervention consisting of psychoeducation and writing components designed to promote self-compassionate mind-frames when dealing with difficult events. The self-compassion intervention was successful, resulting in higher levels of self-compassion, and lower levels of state self-criticism, state rumination, and concern over mistakes in a group of varsity women athletes, compared to an attention control group. The intervention supported the use of self-compassion to help women athletes manage stress. Overall, this dissertation provides support for the utility of self-compassion in sport as a resource for women athletes.Education, Faculty ofKinesiology, School ofGraduat

Contributions of psychological needs, self-compassion, leisure-time exercise, and achievement goals to academic engagement and exhaustion in Canadian medical students

Purpose To investigate the contributions of psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and coping strategies (self-compassion, leisure-time exercise, and achievement goals) to engagement and exhaustion in Canadian medical students. Methods This was an observational study. Two hundred undergraduate medical students participated in the study: 60.4% were female, 95.4% were 20–29 years old, and 23.0% were in year 1, 30.0% in year 2, 21.0% in year 3, and 26.0% in year 4. Students completed an online survey with measures of engagement and exhaustion from the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory–student version; autonomy, competence, and relatedness from the Basic Psychological Needs Scale; self-compassion from the Self-Compassion Scale–short form; leisure-time exercise from the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire; and mastery approach, mastery avoidance, performance approach, and performance avoidance goals from the Achievement Goals Instrument. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed. Results The need for competence was the strongest predictor of student engagement (β= 0.35, P= 0.000) and exhaustion (β= −0.33, P= 0.000). Students who endorsed mastery approach goals (β= 0.21, P= 0.005) and who were more self-compassionate (β= 0.13, P= 0.050) reported greater engagement with their medical studies. Students who were less self-compassionate (β= −0.32, P= 0.000), who exercised less (β= −0.12, P= 0.044), and who endorsed mastery avoidance goals (β= 0.22, P= 0.003) reported greater exhaustion from their studies. Students’ gender (β= 0.18, P= 0.005) and year in medical school (β= −0.18, P= 0.004) were related to engagement, but not to exhaustion. Conclusion Supporting students’ need for competence and raising students’ awareness of self-compassion, leisure-time exercise, and mastery approach goals may help protect students from burnout-related exhaustion and enhance their engagement with their medical school studies

Association of Physicians’ Self-Compassion with Work Engagement, Exhaustion, and Professional Life Satisfaction

Self-compassion has shown promise as an adaptive resource for coping with uncertainties and challenges. This study examined the relationship between self-compassion and professional wellbeing (work engagement, exhaustion, and professional life satisfaction) of physicians, who frequently face uncertainties and challenges in their clinical practice. Fifty-seven practicing physicians in Canada participated in the study. Overall, 65% of the participants were female; 47% were in the early-career stage; 49% were family medicine (FM) physicians, with the rest being non-FM specialists. It was hypothesized that (a) self-compassionate physicians would experience greater work engagement and less exhaustion from work than physicians reporting lower self-compassion and (b) self-compassionate physicians would experience greater professional life satisfaction through their greater work engagement and less exhaustion than physicians reporting lower self-compassion. Sequential regression analyses were performed. The results confirmed the hypothesized associations, indicating that self-compassionate physicians experienced more positive work engagement, felt less emotionally, physically, and cognitively exhausted due to work demands, and were more satisfied with their professional life than physicians who exhibited less compassion toward themselves in uncertain and challenging times. Future studies are needed to determine optimal ways to support practicing physicians and medical trainees in becoming more self-compassionate for their enhanced wellbeing and, ultimately, for the provision of effective patient care