School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Int J Eat Disord. 2023 Nov;56(11):2131-2141. doi: 10.1002/eat.24049. Epub 2023 Aug 23.
Self-compassion has an inverse association with dietary restraint however, the mechanisms linking self-compassion and dietary restraint are not clear. This study aimed to determine to what extent self-compassion was inversely concurrently related to dietary restraint, indirectly through body-related self-conscious emotions, and to what extent trait self-compassion moderated the concurrent within-person association between body-related self-conscious emotions and dietary restraint.
Data was collected from 224 Canadian university students who reported on trait self-compassion at baseline and body-related shame, guilt, envy, and embarrassment, and dietary restraint biweekly between November 2020 and August 2021.
Results from a 2-1-1 multilevel mediation model showed that trait self-compassion was indirectly concurrently related to dietary restraint through body-related shame, guilt, envy, and embarrassment. Results from the moderation model showed that there was a significant positive concurrent within-person association between body-related shame, envy, and embarrassment, but not guilt, with dietary restraint. These relationships were not moderated by trait self-compassion.
This study adds to our understanding of the concurrent association between body-related self-conscious emotions and dietary restraint, and the mechanisms through which self-compassion is related to dietary restraint. Given body-related self-conscious emotions were related to dietary restraint at both the within-person and between-person level, both compassion-focused interventions that aim to improve general levels of body-related self-conscious emotions and interventions that aim to overcome spikes in these emotions compared with one's usual level are warranted.
Negative body-related self-conscious emotions were related to higher levels of dietary restraint both across individuals and within individuals over time; and may play a mechanistic role in linking self-compassion with dietary restraint. Interventions aimed at reducing negative body-related self-conscious emotions are warranted in the prevention of eating disorder psychopathology.
自我同情与饮食克制呈负相关，然而，将自我同情与饮食克制联系起来的机制尚不清楚。本研究旨在确定自我同情在多大程度上与饮食克制呈负相关，通过与身体相关的自我意识情绪间接相关，以及特质自我同情在多大程度上调节与身体相关的自我意识情绪和饮食克制之间的个体内同时关联。
本研究的数据来自 224 名加拿大大学生，他们在 2020 年 11 月至 2021 年 8 月期间，分别在基线时报告特质自我同情，以及每两周报告一次与身体相关的羞耻、内疚、嫉妒和尴尬情绪和饮食克制情况。
2-1-1 多层次中介模型的结果表明，特质自我同情通过与身体相关的羞耻、内疚、嫉妒和尴尬情绪间接同时与饮食克制相关。调节模型的结果表明，与身体相关的羞耻、嫉妒和尴尬情绪与饮食克制之间存在显著的个体内同时正相关，但内疚情绪与饮食克制之间不存在这种关系。特质自我同情并不能调节这些关系。
本研究增加了我们对身体相关自我意识情绪与饮食克制之间的同时关联以及自我同情与饮食克制之间关系的机制的理解。鉴于身体相关的自我意识情绪在个体内和个体间水平上都与饮食克制有关，因此需要关注既可以提高身体相关自我意识情绪一般水平，也可以针对这些情绪相对于个体平时水平的波动进行干预的方法。
消极的与身体相关的自我意识情绪与更高水平的饮食克制有关，无论是在个体之间还是在个体内部随时间变化；并且可能在将自我同情与饮食克制联系起来的机制中发挥作用。需要开展旨在减少消极的与身体相关的自我意识情绪的干预措施，以预防饮食障碍的心理病理。
