Old Wine in New Bottles? The Case of Self-compassion and Neuroticism

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Research on self-compassion, which is defined as being understanding and kind to oneself when confronted with negative experiences, has produced an impressive number of articles in recent years. This research shows that individual differences in self-compassion, as measured by the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), are positively related to life satisfaction, health and social functioning. However, a critical and systematic test of self-compassion from a personality perspective has not yet conducted so far. In the present study (N = 576), we (i) tested the factor structure of the SCS, (ii) examined the distinctiveness of self-compassion with regard to the five-factor model of personality, focusing on neuroticism, and (iii) tested the incremental predictive power of self-compassion beyond the five-factor model in the context of life satisfaction. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor plus six facets solution of self-compassion (a positive factor and a negative factor). Additional analyses revealed that the negative factor was redundant with facets of neuroticism (rs ≥.85), whereas the positive factor had some unique variance left. However, neither the negative factor nor the positive factor could explain substantial incremental variance in life satisfaction beyond neuroticism. Recommendations for how to use the SCS are provided, and the future of research on self-compassion is discussed.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEuropean Journal of Personality
Volume31
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)160-169
Number of pages10
ISSN0890-2070
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.03.2017
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • Big Five, five-factor model, jangle fallacy, neuroticism, self-compassion
  • Psychology

DOI

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  1. Mareike Förster

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