Department of Psychology, McGill University, Canada.
Department of Psychology, McGill University, Canada.
Appetite. 2023 Jul 1;186:106568. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.106568. Epub 2023 Apr 11.
Available studies suggest that experiencing interpersonal rejection heightens negative affect and, in turn, triggers unhealthy eating behaviors. Elucidating individual differences that attenuate the negative consequences of rejection could inform interventions targeting unhealthy eating. This study examined the buffering role of self-compassion in the relationship between rejection experiences and unhealthy eating behaviors, defined as snacking on junk food and overeating. Two-hundred undergraduate students (50% women) completed ecological momentary assessments measuring rejection experiences, emotions, and unhealthy eating seven times a day for 10 consecutive days. Self-compassion was measured after the 10-day assessment period. Reports of rejection were low (2.6%) in our university sample. Multilevel mediation analyses examined whether the relationship between experiencing rejection and subsequent unhealthy eating was mediated by negative affect. Multilevel moderated mediation analyses further considered whether relationships between rejection and negative affect and between negative affect and unhealthy eating were moderated by self-compassion. Experiencing rejection predicted more unhealthy eating behaviors at the next time point, and this relationship was fully explained by increases in negative affect. Participants with high levels of self-compassion experienced less intense negative affect after rejection and reported less unhealthy eating behaviors when feeling negative emotions, compared to their counterparts with lower levels of self-compassion. The indirect effect of rejection on unhealthy eating was moderated by self-compassion, and there was no statistically significant relationship between rejection and unhealthy eating behaviors among highly self-compassionate participants. Findings suggest that cultivating self-compassion may help attenuate the negative impact of rejection experiences on emotions and unhealthy eating behaviors.
现有研究表明，人际拒绝会增加负面情绪，进而引发不健康的饮食习惯。了解减轻拒绝负面影响的个体差异，可以为针对不健康饮食的干预措施提供信息。本研究考察了自我同情在拒绝体验与不健康饮食行为（定义为吃垃圾食品和暴饮暴食）之间的缓冲作用。200 名大学生（50%为女性）完成了 10 天内每天 7 次的生态瞬时评估，评估内容包括拒绝体验、情绪和不健康饮食。在 10 天评估期结束后测量自我同情。在我们的大学样本中，拒绝报告率较低（2.6%）。多层次中介分析检验了经历拒绝与随后不健康饮食之间的关系是否由负面情绪介导。多层次调节中介分析进一步考虑了拒绝与负面情绪之间以及负面情绪与不健康饮食之间的关系是否由自我同情调节。经历拒绝会预测下一个时间点的更多不健康饮食行为，这种关系完全由负面情绪的增加来解释。与自我同情水平较低的参与者相比，自我同情水平较高的参与者在经历拒绝后会体验到较少的强烈负面情绪，并且在感到负面情绪时报告的不健康饮食行为也较少。自我同情调节了拒绝对不健康饮食的间接影响，而在高度自我同情的参与者中，拒绝与不健康饮食行为之间没有统计学上的显著关系。研究结果表明，培养自我同情可能有助于减轻拒绝体验对情绪和不健康饮食行为的负面影响。
