Clarifying the Relationship Between Self-Compassion and Mindfulness: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Well-being research
• Mindfulness studies

Background:

• Self-compassion involves kind awareness of negative experiences, linked to improved well-being.
• The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) incorporates mindfulness, considered crucial for self-compassionate responses.
• Understanding the construct validity of the SCS and its relation to mindfulness and decentering is important.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the associations between the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) and its subscales with mindfulness and decentering.
• To clarify the construct validity of the SCS in relation to mindfulness and decentering at baseline and in daily life.
• To test if self-compassion moderates the relationship between daily mindfulness and eudaimonic well-being during negative affect.

Main Methods:

• 172 community adults completed the SCS at baseline.
• A 7-day ecological momentary assessment was used to collect daily life data.
• Multilevel correlations and regressions analyzed SCS construct validity and tested moderation effects.

Main Results:

• The SCS generally demonstrated good construct validity, with its mindfulness subscales strongly correlating with decentering.
• Higher dispositional self-compassion, momentary mindful awareness, and lower negative affect predicted greater momentary eudaimonic well-being.
• Self-compassion did not moderate the interaction between momentary mindfulness and negative affect in predicting well-being.

Conclusions:

• The SCS shows general validity, but subscale validity requires further investigation.
• Self-compassion's ecological validity is supported by its predictive power for daily well-being.
• Trait self-compassion does not alter the association between momentary mindfulness and eudaimonic well-being.