title: Self-compassion, pain, and breaking a social contract.
abstract: Self-compassion is the ability to respond to one's failures, shortcomings, and difficulties with kindness and openness rather than criticism. This study, which might be regarded as a proof-of-concept study, aimed to establish whether self-compassion is associated with expected emotional responses and the likelihood of responding with problem solving, support seeking, distraction, avoidance, rumination, or catastrophizing to unpleasant self-relevant events occurring in 3 social contexts. Sixty chronic pain patients were presented with 6 vignettes describing scenes in which the principal actor transgressed a social contract with negative interpersonal consequences. Vignettes represented 2 dimensions: (1) whether pain or a nonpain factor interrupted the fulfillment of the contract and (2) variation in the social setting (work, peer, and family). The Self-Compassion Scale was the covariate in the analysis. Higher levels of self-compassion were associated with significantly lower negative affect and lower reported likelihood of avoidance, catastrophizing, and rumination. Self-compassion did not interact with pain vs nonpain factor. Work-related vignettes were rated as more emotional and more likely to be associated with avoidance, catastrophizing, and rumination and less likelihood of problem solving. The findings suggest that self-compassion warrants further investigation in the chronic pain population both regarding the extent of its influence as a trait and in terms of the potential to enhance chronic pain patients' ability to be self-compassionate, with a view to its therapeutic utility in enhancing psychological well-being and adjustment. Limitations regarding the possible criterion contamination and the generalizability of vignette studies are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Purdie
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morley
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D010146:Pain / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011340:Problem Solving; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012649:Self Concept; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult