Factors associated with low self-compassion in young adults

Self-compassion comprises treating oneself non-judgementally with kindness and understanding during life challenges. Our aim was to identify, from among a diverse set of sociodemographic, lifestyle behavioural, psychological, family/peer social influence, and health indicators, factors associated with low self-compassion in a population-based sample of young adults.

Data on 37 factors potentially associated with low self-compassion were drawn from cycle 23 of the ongoing 24-year Nicotine Dependence in Teens (NDIT) study for 682 participants (M_age 30.5, SD = 1.0, 41% male). Self-compassion data were drawn from cycle 25 (M_age 35.2, SD = 0.6). Crude and adjusted multivariable logistic regression models were fit separately for each factor studied.

Sixteen percent of participants reported low self-compassion. Factors associated with low self-compassion included female sex, poor sleep quality, higher frequency of overeating, trying to lose weight, higher depressive symptoms, low self-esteem, higher daily stress, body-related emotions, higher introjected regulation for physical activity, receiving negative comments about weight, poor self-rated health, and diagnosis of a mood or anxiety disorder.

A complex array of factors may influence self-compassion, underscoring the need for better understanding of causality as well as the relationships across factors to determine which factors hold promise in terms of intervention.