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The Role of Self-Compassion and Body Perception in Predicting Psychological Safety
1Department of Human and Social Sciences, Mercatorum University, 00186 Rome, Italy.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
|July 15, 2026
Summary
Self-compassion, or treating oneself with kindness during distress, is key to psychological safety. It fully explains how body perception influences feeling safe, highlighting its therapeutic potential.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Embodied Cognition
Background:
- Psychological safety is crucial for emotional regulation and interpersonal functioning.
- It may involve embodied experiences and self-perception during distress.
- This study explores self-compassion and body perception's impact on psychological safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the roles of self-compassion and body perception in psychological safety.
- To determine the predictive strength of self-compassion and body perception on psychological safety.
- To examine the mediating effect of self-compassion on the relationship between body perception and psychological safety.
Main Methods:
- 332 community participants completed validated questionnaires.
- Measures included the Neuroception of Psychological Safety Scale (NPSS), Body Perception Questionnaire-22 (BPQ-22), and Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form (SCS-SF).
- Statistical analyses included correlations, hierarchical regression, and mediation analyses.
Main Results:
- Psychological safety positively correlated with self-compassion and negatively with body perception.
- Self-compassion was the primary predictor of psychological safety, overshadowing body perception's direct effect.
- Self-compassion fully mediated the link between body perception and psychological safety.
Conclusions:
- Bodily experiences influence psychological safety primarily through self-compassion.
- Self-compassion is a critical factor in how individuals relate to themselves during distress.
- Enhancing self-compassion may be a viable therapeutic target for improving psychological safety.
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