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The relation between self-compassion, health behaviours and physical health

Bauhuf, Sophia (2019) The relation between self-compassion, health behaviours and physical health.

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Abstract:Background: There is a growing evidence that displays an association between self-compassion and health behaviours in promoting the general well-being among individuals. Research has found that higher self-compassion can be generally associated to increased health behaviours (Sirois et al., 2015). Until now, however, no differentiation between individual health behaviours in their association to self-compassion has been made. Aim: This research aimed at discovering the different associations between the health behaviours ‘stress management’, ‘physical activity’, ‘eating behaviour’ and self-compassion. Moreover, it was tested if physical health can be associated to self-compassion. Furthermore, it was tested if the two used self-compassion measures correlate with each other. Methods: The study design involved a cross-sectional correlation descriptive questionnaire. An online survey design was implemented. The sample consisted of 204 individuals, ranging from 18 to 82 years, covering three different nationalities. Results: Strong significant negative association was shown between the two self-compassion measures (r (202) = -0.74). This study displayed a significant association between self-compassion and eating behaviours (SCS-SF = .14, FSCRS = -.23). Stress management and physical activity were found to not be significantly associated with self-compassion (SCS-SF = .06, FSCRS =-.08, SCS-SF = .06, FSCRS=-.08). A significant association was shown between self-compassion and physical health (SCS-SF =-.32, FSCRS = .39). Conclusion: It can be stated that even though self-compassion has a general effect on health behaviours, a distinction between them must be made as not all of them are equally associated with self-compassion. It is advisable for future research to investigate further health behaviours to fully understand the underlying factors which promote them, in order to improve general societal well-being. As this research displayed the similarity of the two self-compassion measures in measuring self-compassion further research can use both instruments for assessing self-compassion. Keywords: self-compassion, health behaviours, eating behaviour, stress management, physical activity, physical health
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:77 psychology
Programme:Psychology BSc (56604)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/79662
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