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- Member of: ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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Description
In the past decade, research has demonstrated the relationship between higher levels of self-compassion and lower levels of negative psychological outcomes. More recently, the concept of self-compassion has been explored within the context of various health behaviors. Very few studies have investigated the potential relationship between self-compassion and eating behaviors. Based on literature and the established relationship between negative self-evaluation and abnormal eating behaviors/eating disorders, the current study sought to examine correlations between self-compassion, eating behaviors, and stress in first time college freshmen. The study population consisted of 1478 participants; ages 18-22 years; females = 936 (63%), males = 541 (37%). Participants self-reported measures of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), and the Self Compassion Scale (SCS). PSS score, the overall score and individual subscale scores of SCS, and the three subscale scores of the TFEQ (restraint, disinhibiton, hunger) were examined with Pearson correlations. Results of this study indicate significant (p = < .05) differences between males and females in PSS and all three negative SCS subscales. There was a strong and consistent correlation between the eating behavior of disinhibition and all three negative constructs of self-compassion (self-judgment, r = .29; isolation, r = .23; over-identification, r = .28) in females. The eating behavior of restraint was similarly correlated with SCS self-judgment in females (r = .26). More research is needed to understand differences in stress, self-compassion, and eating behaviors between males and females and to better comprehend the weak associations between eating behaviors and the positive psychological constructs of self-compassion (self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness) for males and females. Additionally, future research should focus on the three subscales of disinhibition as they relate to the negative constructs of self-compassion. The preliminary results of this study suggest it would be beneficial, particularly to female college freshmen, to more fully understand the dynamics of the relationship between eating behaviors and self-compassion; this knowledge may help to better structure appropriate coping strategies for the prevention of disordered eating behaviors.
ContributorsJames, Darith (Author) / Sebren, Ann (Thesis advisor) / Swan, Pamela D. (Committee member) / Der Ananian, Cheryl (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This paper will use a national cross-sectional survey approach to look at the association between trainable mind-body qualities (mindfulness and self-compassion) with well-being and resilience in 111 college students across the U.S.. Specifically, it will investigate (1) the relationship between trainable qualities (mindfulness, self-compassion) and the resilience, and subjective well-being in students, and (2) compare how these variables were distributed based on enrollment in a college course on compassion. After examination of descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations, comparative analyses were also employed to determine whether enrollment in compassion college courses had any relationship to one’s scores. Results: Respondents included 12 students enrolled in Compassion college course, and 99 students who were not. Both mindfulness and self-compassion showed significant positive correlations with well-being and resilience in all students, and in subgroups based on enrollment at p < .01. Additionally, students enrolled in the course averaged 3 points higher scores across all measures except resilience, where scores were about the same. Conclusions: In all college students, regardless of their enrollment in Compassion, well-being and resilience are positively correlated with both mindfulness and self-compassion. Furthermore, scores based on enrollment in “Compassion” yielded higher levels of mindfulness, self-compassion, resilience, and well-being.
ContributorsBrown, Evaline (Author) / Pipe, Teri (Thesis director) / Gueci, Nika (Committee member) / Jimenez, Manuela (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Fetal androgen exposure and childhood experiences are believed to contribute to the development and organization of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axes, which are responsible for the regulation and release of stress and sex hormones, respectively. Evidence suggests the HPA and HPG axes can couple in response to childhood adversity, and that hormonal dysregulation contributes to psychopathological disorders such as anxiety and depression. Recent research also suggests self-compassion interventions could reduce PTSD symptoms, and that the experience of childhood trauma is related to increased empathy. Still, little is known regarding the impact of fetal androgen exposure on PTSD susceptibility and the relationships between self-compassion, compassion for others, and empathy. The current study aims to determine whether fetal androgen exposure mitigates PTSD susceptibility, and to clarify the relationships between empathy, compassion for others, self-compassion, and PTSD symptoms. A sample of 208 adults completed an online survey designed to measure fetal androgen exposure, childhood maltreatment, self-compassion, compassion for others, empathy, and PTSD symptoms. Findings show a significant difference in PTSD symptoms between individuals in high and low fetal androgen exposure groups, and significant correlations were discovered between empathy and compassion for others, empathy and self-compassion, but not compassion for others and self-compassion. Future studies could explore the extent to which fetal androgen exposure influences PTSD symptom susceptibility and the clinical implications therein.
ContributorsMoore, Robin Ann (Author) / Holloway, Steven (Thesis director) / Lewis, Stephen (Committee member) / Nanez, Jose (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Interpersonal strain is linked with depressive symptoms in middle-aged adults. Self-compassion is an emerging resilience construct that may be advantageous in navigating relationship strain by helping individuals respond to emotions in a kind and nonjudgmental way. Although theory and empirical evidence suggests that self-compassion is protective against the impact of stress on mental health outcomes, many studies have not investigated how self-compassion operates in the context of relationship strain. In addition, few studies have examined psychological or physiological mechanisms by which self-compassion protects against mental health outcomes, depression in particular. Thus, this study examined 1) the extent to which trait self-compassion buffers the relation between family strain and depressive symptoms, and 2) whether these buffering effects are mediated by hope and inflammatory processes (IL-6) in a sample of 762 middle-aged, community-dwelling adults. Results from structural equation models indicated that family strain was unrelated to depressive symptoms and the relation was not moderated by self-compassion. Hope, but not IL-6, mediated the relation between family strain and depressive symptoms and the indirect effect was not conditional on levels of self-compassion. Taken together, the findings suggest that family strain may lead individuals to experience less hope and subsequent increases in depressive symptoms, and further, that a self-compassionate attitude does not affect this relation. Implications for future self-compassion interventions are discussed.
ContributorsMistretta, Erin (Author) / Davis, Mary C. (Thesis advisor) / Karoly, Paul (Committee member) / Infurna, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Lifespan psychological perspectives have long suggested the context in which individuals live having the potential to shape the course of development across the adult lifespan. Thus, it is imperative to examine the role of both the objective and subjective neighborhood context in mitigating the consequences of lifetime adversity on mental and physical health. To address the research questions, data was used from a sample of 362 individuals in midlife who were assessed on lifetime adversity, multiple outcomes of mental and physical health and aspects of the objective and subjective neighborhood. Results showed that reporting more lifetime adversity was associated with poorer mental and physical health. Aspects of the objective and subjective neighborhood, such as green spaces moderated these relationships. The discussion focuses on potential mechanisms underlying why objective and subjective indicators of the neighborhood are protective against lifetime adversity.
ContributorsStaben, Omar E (Author) / Infurna, Frank J. (Thesis advisor) / Luthar, Suniya S. (Committee member) / Grimm, Kevin J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Identifying transtheoretical mechanisms of self-compassion is important for understanding its use as a treatment approach for depression and anxiety. This study examined the effectiveness of self-compassion and detached reappraisal on mechanisms involved in the processing of rejection, namely attention, appraisals, and affect. Rejection is a common experience that can increase individuals risk for poor mental health outcomes, especially among those with rejection sensitivity. Outcomes are framed within the Situated Action Cycle, which offers an integrated approach to examining mechanisms of cognitive, affective, and behavioral processing. Online participants who reported at least moderate levels of rejection sensitivity were recruited to participate in the study. Study 1 documented that recalling an experience of rejection led to rejection-related emotions as opposed to conflict-related emotions, as expected. Additionally, a brief self-compassion writing induction produced expected increases in state self-compassion and positive affect, but also unexpected increases in state reappraisal. A brief detached reappraisal induction led to unexpected decreases in state reappraisal, particularly for those with marginalized identities. Study 2, which included a neutral control condition, found that brief self-compassion training increased negative attention bias and controllability appraisals and decreased positive affect. Detached reappraisal led to greater reductions in positive affect compared to both self-compassion and control conditions. Further, detached reappraisal led to increases in negative affect compared to the self-compassion condition. Changes observed from pre- to post-intervention in attentional, cognitive, and affective measures were not sustained following a Cyberball rejection manipulation administered one day later. Results from the study reveal nonsuperior effects of either intervention and possible mechanisms of self-compassion interventions for individuals with rejection sensitivity. Self-compassion may be a useful strategy to help individuals with rejection sensitivity attend to the negative emotions experienced during rejection with greater equanimity but may lead to reductions in positive affect. Further work is needed to determine whether the potential benefits of continued self-compassion training outweigh the mixed effects of brief self-compassion training and whether such benefits are superior to other evidence-based approaches.
ContributorsMistretta, Erin G (Author) / Davis, Mary C (Thesis advisor) / Shiota, Michelle N (Committee member) / Luecken, Linda L (Committee member) / Blais, Rebecca K (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Background: First-generation college students (FGCS) often experience more stress compared to continuing-generation students (Holden et al., 2021). This stress can stem from familial and cultural obligations, financial challenges, and the experience of being part of a racial or ethnic minority group. Storytelling is a psychosocial process involving sharing personal experiences or fictional stories, usually reflecting the behavior patterns and orientation to events present in the culture of the teller. Limited research has explored storytelling interventions to address self-compassion and stress levels in first-generation college students
Aims: This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility and preliminary effects of a storytelling intervention for first-generation college students on perceived stress, resilience, and self-compassion, as determined by pre- and post-intervention. In addition, the incorporation of heart rate variability (HRV) measurements during storytelling quantified the physiological stress levels associated with the intervention and its potential correlation with stress reduction. Of additional interest was to obtain a qualitative characterization of the experiences, stresses, and supportive factors described in the stories told by participants.
Methods: FGCS were recruited at Arizona State University. Participants (N=22, M age=21.18 years, SD=3.172) attended a storytelling session for one hour in person. Heart-rate variability assessment was used to measure participant emotions and psychological coherence during in-person storytelling. The outcome measures included the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF), and HRV coherence was assessed during the intervention. Quantitative analyses were conducted in SPSS Version 27. Using the content of the stories shared in the intervention, qualitative content analyses were conducted with 3 research project members.
Results: A total of 36 participants agreed to be contacted and were emailed. Of these 36, 10 declined to participate and 4 were ineligible due to unwillingness to commit to 2 hours over 2 weeks to complete the study, (including an in-person visit to the lab) yielding 22 consented participants (61% recruitment of those screened). All consented individuals completed data collection, attended a storytelling intervention session, and completed the post-intervention data collection (100% retention). 5 major themes emerged from the data: (1) Barriers within Journey; (2) Immigrant and Immigrant Family Experiences; (3) Facilitators within Journey; (4) Reasoning for Attending University. The direction of change for HRV coherence with self-compassion and depression-anxiety was as expected. T-tests were generated for pre- and post- intervention self-reports: T1-T3 BRS SD= 0.79247, t= -0.673; T1-T3 PSS SD= 5.39540, t= -0.514; T1-T3 PHQ for anxiety SD= 1.91429, t= 0.111; T1-T3 PHQ for depression SD= 1.62302, t= 1.708; T1-T3 SCS SD= 0.46319, t= -1.956.
Conclusions: Participants described telling and sharing their stories as therapeutic and regenerative. Statistical tests of emotional regulation with HRVB demonstrated minimal change in stress response, with an increase in self-compassion. A storytelling intervention demonstrates a promising coping tool as an avenue for retelling distressing events and increasing self-compassion and resilience.
ContributorsKash, Joya (Author) / Kash, Jillian (Co-author) / Kim, Sunny (Thesis director) / Larkey, Linda (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Background: First-generation college students (FGCS) often experience more stress compared to continuing-generation students (Holden et al., 2021). This stress can stem from familial and cultural obligations, financial challenges, and the experience of being part of a racial or ethnic minority group. Storytelling is a psychosocial process involving sharing personal experiences or fictional stories, usually reflecting the behavior patterns and orientation to events present in the culture of the teller. Limited research has explored storytelling interventions to address self-compassion and stress levels in first-generation college students
Aims: This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility and preliminary effects of a storytelling intervention for first-generation college students on perceived stress, resilience, and self-compassion, as determined by pre- and post-intervention. In addition, the incorporation of heart rate variability (HRV) measurements during storytelling quantified the physiological stress levels associated with the intervention and its potential correlation with stress reduction. Of additional interest was to obtain a qualitative characterization of the experiences, stresses, and supportive factors described in the stories told by participants.
Methods: FGCS were recruited at Arizona State University. Participants (N=22, M age=21.18 years, SD=3.172) attended a storytelling session for one hour in person. Heart-rate variability assessment was used to measure participant emotions and psychological coherence during in-person storytelling. The outcome measures included the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF), and HRV coherence was assessed during the intervention. Quantitative analyses were conducted in SPSS Version 27. Using the content of the stories shared in the intervention, qualitative content analyses were conducted with 3 research project members.
Results: A total of 36 participants agreed to be contacted and were emailed. Of these 36, 10 declined to participate and 4 were ineligible due to unwillingness to commit to 2 hours over 2 weeks to complete the study, (including an in-person visit to the lab) yielding 22 consented participants (61% recruitment of those screened). All consented individuals completed data collection, attended a storytelling intervention session, and completed the post-intervention data collection (100% retention). 5 major themes emerged from the data: (1) Barriers within Journey; (2) Immigrant and Immigrant Family Experiences; (3) Facilitators within Journey; (4) Reasoning for Attending University. The direction of change for HRV coherence with self-compassion and depression-anxiety was as expected. T-tests were generated for pre- and post- intervention self-reports: T1-T3 BRS SD= 0.79247, t= -0.673; T1-T3 PSS SD= 5.39540, t= -0.514; T1-T3 PHQ for anxiety SD= 1.91429, t= 0.111; T1-T3 PHQ for depression SD= 1.62302, t= 1.708; T1-T3 SCS SD= 0.46319, t= -1.956.
Conclusions: Participants described telling and sharing their stories as therapeutic and regenerative. Statistical tests of emotional regulation with HRVB demonstrated minimal change in stress response, with an increase in self-compassion. A storytelling intervention demonstrates a promising coping tool as an avenue for retelling distressing events and increasing self-compassion and resilience.
ContributorsKash, Jillian (Author) / Kash, Joya (Co-author) / Larkey, Linda (Thesis director) / Kim, Sunny (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2024-05