Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Sciences (WELL Center), Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Appetite. 2023 Nov 1;190:107009. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.107009. Epub 2023 Aug 22.
Dietary lapses (i.e., instances of dietary non-adherence) are common during weight loss attempts, and compromise success in two ways: increasing caloric intake and demoralizing the participant, sometimes leading them to abandon their weight control goals altogether. Efforts to understand and prevent demoralization have received almost no research attention. Self-compassion has high potential to promote adaptive responses to these setbacks because it reframes "failure" and promotes self-improvement. Past research shows that when participants experience a lapse, those practicing higher self-compassion report higher self-efficacy and intentions to continue dieting. The current study extended this literature to examine whether self-compassion in response to a lapse would predict lower likelihood of a subsequent same-day lapse and greater reports of perceived control over weight management behaviors. We also examined whether the individual facets of self-compassion, including self-kindness (treating oneself the way one would a friend); common humanity (the understanding that everyone has struggles); and mindfulness (non-judgmental awareness of thoughts and feelings) are associated with these outcomes. Participants (N = 140) enrolled in a behavioral weight loss trial completed 6 ecological momentary assessment (EMA) surveys a day for seven days. Total self-compassion and each facet of self-compassion individually were all associated with less negative affect after a lapse. None of the self-compassion variables predicted the likelihood of participants reporting a lapse again that day. However, higher total self-compassion and higher self-kindness after a lapse were both associated with greater perceived self-control over weight management behaviors in the hours following. Common humanity and mindfulness, respectively, were not associated with reports of perceived control. Results suggest that self-compassion following dieting setbacks may prevent goal disengagement, and that self-kindness is the facet most strongly associated with adaptive responses to these setbacks.
饮食失误（即饮食不依从的情况）在减肥尝试中很常见，并且以两种方式破坏成功：增加热量摄入和使参与者士气低落，有时使他们完全放弃体重控制目标。理解和预防士气低落的努力几乎没有受到研究关注。自我同情具有促进对这些挫折的适应性反应的巨大潜力，因为它重新定义了“失败”并促进自我改进。过去的研究表明，当参与者经历失误时，那些练习更高自我同情的人报告自我效能感和继续节食的意愿更高。本研究将这一文献扩展到检验对失误的自我同情是否会预测随后同一天内再次失误的可能性降低，以及对体重管理行为的感知控制增强。我们还检验了自我同情的各个方面，包括自我友善（以对待朋友的方式对待自己）；共同人性（理解每个人都有挣扎）；和正念（对思想和感受的非评判性意识）是否与这些结果相关。参与者（N=140）参加了一项行为减肥试验，每天完成 6 次生态瞬时评估（EMA）调查，为期 7 天。在失误后，总自我同情和自我同情的每个方面都与负面情绪减少有关。自我同情的任何变量都不能预测参与者当天再次报告失误的可能性。然而，在失误后更高的总自我同情和更高的自我友善都与随后几小时内对体重管理行为的自我控制感增强有关。共同人性和正念分别与感知控制感无关。结果表明，在节食挫折后自我同情可能会防止目标脱离，而自我友善是与对这些挫折的适应性反应最相关的方面。
