Self-compassion and stress responses among early adolescents

Self-compassion is an adaptive means of relating to oneself that encompasses elements of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Self-compassion has positive associations with health and may dampen biological and psychological stress responses, which would be particularly helpful for those with a history of early life adversity. The purpose of this study was to determine i) the association of trait self-compassion with cortisol and affective responses to an acute psychosocial stressor among early adolescents, and ii) whether this association differed by exposure to early life adversity (e.g., abuse, neglect).

Eighty-three early adolescents (M = 12.86 years; 47 % girls, 1 % non-binary) self-reported their trait self-compassion, completed a structured interview-based assessment to assess threat- and deprivation-related exposures to early life adversity, and underwent a psychosocial laboratory stressor (Trier Social Stress Test for Children; TSST-C). Salivary cortisol and self-reported positive and negative affect were measured at six timepoints before, during, and for 30 min following the stressor. We tested associations of self-compassion with trajectories (reactivity, recovery) and total levels (area under the curve with respect to ground; AUCg) of cortisol and positive and negative affect across the TSST-C, as well as moderating effects of early life adversity. Hierarchical linear models were used to test trajectories, and linear regression was used to test AUCg, with unstandardized (B) and standardized beta coefficients (β) reported, respectively.

Self-compassion was not associated with total cortisol levels or trajectories of cortisol, positive affect, or negative affect (all p > 0.057). However, greater self-compassion was associated with higher sample 1 positive affect, B = 1.815, t(71) = 2.84, p = .006, and greater total positive affect levels, β = 0.411, t(62) = 3.90, p < .001. Similarly, self-compassion was associated with lower sample 1 negative affect, B = -1.261, t(72) = -2.35, p = 0.022, and less total negative affect levels, β = -0.269, t(75) = -2.45, p = 0.017. Additionally, sensitivity analyses indicated that at higher levels of early-life threat exposure, greater self-compassion was associated with higher sample 1 positive affect.

Among adolescents - including those exposed to threat-related forms of early life adversity- self-compassion may impart more general, diffuse beneficial effects on affect rather than buffering affective or cortisol responses to an acute stressor.