Hodzic Amsela, Flynn Abigail R, Lamont Jean M, Khin Min, Grubbs Alexandria
Department of Psychology, Bellarmine University, 2001 Newburg Road, Louisville, KY, 40205, USA.
Cogn Process. 2025 May;26(2):345-357. doi: 10.1007/s10339-024-01249-2. Epub 2024 Nov 15.
Many individuals encounter situations that may elicit body-related concerns and impact how they think and feel about their weight, daily habits, and physical attractiveness. Research shows body image threats can predict poor health behaviors, but approaching those difficult moments with self-compassion-being kind, forgiving, and nonjudgmental-may reduce the impact of that threat and promote engagement in positive health behaviors. However, trait rumination, or tending to perseverate on negative events, may both dampen the benefits of a self-compassionate state and predict poor health behaviors. The present study examined whether a brief self-compassion writing exercise, after recalling a negative body-related event, predicted intent to perform health-promoting behaviors, and whether trait rumination attenuated this relationship. Participants (N = 217) completed a measure of trait rumination, underwent a body image threat, and were randomly assigned to cope with self-compassion or a distraction. Subsequently, participants completed a measure of health behavioral intentions. Analyses revealed participants in the self-compassion condition reported greater health-promoting behavioral intentions compared to control, with no significant main effect of trait rumination. However, a condition-by-rumination interaction emerged, suggesting the self-compassion condition was associated with higher health behavioral intentions, but only for participants with low trait rumination levels. These effects washed out when controlling for participants' self-rated health. The findings suggest that a self-compassion practice can help mitigate the adverse effects of a body image threat and facilitate health-promoting behavioral intentions, although its efficacy may depend on individual levels of trait rumination and perceived health.
许多人会遇到一些情况，这些情况可能引发与身体相关的担忧，并影响他们对自己体重、日常习惯和身体吸引力的看法及感受。研究表明，身体形象威胁可预测不良健康行为，但以自我同情的方式面对这些困难时刻——友善、宽容且不加评判——可能会减少这种威胁的影响，并促进积极健康行为的参与。然而，特质性沉思，即倾向于执着于负面事件，可能既会削弱自我同情状态的益处，又会预测不良健康行为。本研究考察了在回忆与身体相关的负面事件后，进行简短的自我同情写作练习是否能预测促进健康行为的意图，以及特质性沉思是否会削弱这种关系。参与者（N = 217）完成了一项特质性沉思测量，经历了一次身体形象威胁，并被随机分配去采用自我同情或分散注意力的方式应对。随后，参与者完成了一项健康行为意图测量。分析显示，与对照组相比，处于自我同情状态的参与者报告了更强的促进健康行为意图，特质性沉思没有显著的主效应。然而，出现了一种状态与沉思的交互作用，表明自我同情状态与更高的健康行为意图相关，但仅适用于特质性沉思水平较低的参与者。在控制了参与者的自我评定健康状况后，这些效应消失了。研究结果表明，自我同情练习有助于减轻身体形象威胁的不利影响，并促进促进健康行为的意图，尽管其效果可能取决于特质性沉思的个体水平和感知到的健康状况。
