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. 2015;8(5):293-301.
doi: 10.1159/000438681. Epub 2015 Oct 1.

Self-Compassion as a Resource in the Self-Stigma Process of Overweight and Obese Individuals

Anja Hilbert  1 , Elmar Braehler, Ricarda Schmidt, Bernd Löwe, Winfried Häuser, Markus Zenger
Affiliations

Self-Compassion as a Resource in the Self-Stigma Process of Overweight and Obese Individuals

Anja Hilbert et al. Obes Facts. 2015.

Abstract

Objective: Self-stigma in overweight and obese individuals has strong associations with impairment in mental and global health. This study sought to explore self-compassion as a psychological resource in the self-stigma process.

Methods: In a 2012 representative German population survey of N = 1,158 overweight and obese individuals, self-compassion was examined as a mediator between self-stigma and mental and physical health outcomes, including BMI (kg/m2), using structural equation modeling and controlling for sociodemographic factors.

Results: Psychological variables were assessed using validated self-report questionnaires. Self-compassion partially mediated the relationships between self-stigma and depression, somatic symptoms, and health status/quality of life, lowering the predictive effect of self-stigma on the outcomes by approximately one-third. In contrast, self-compassion, because it was unrelated to BMI, did not mediate the association between self-stigma and BMI.

Conclusion: Self-compassion has the potential to act as a buffer against the mental and global health detriments of self-stigma in overweight and obesity and could thus represent a target for interventions to reduce self-stigma and prevent these health impairments. In order to influence the association between self-stigma and BMI, self-compassion should conceptually be linked to weight management.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Predictive effects of self-stigma on mental and physical health outcomes. Notes: Standardized regression coefficients are depicted. All coefficients are significant at p < 0.001. WBIS = Weight Bias Internalization Scale (1-7*, scores indicating less favorable conditions are asterisked); BDI-PC, Beck Depression Inventory for Primary Care (0-21*); SCS = Self-Compassion Scale (1*-5); SSS-8 = Somatic Symptom Score-8 (0-32*); EORTC QLQ-C30 = European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire - Core 30 (0*-100).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Self-compassion as a mediator of the association between self-stigma and mental and physical health outcomes. Notes: Standardized regression coefficients are depicted. All coefficients are significant at p < 0.001. WBIS = Weight Bias Internalization Scale (1-7*, scores indicating less favorable conditions are asterisked); BDI-PC = Beck Depression Inventory for Primary Care (0-21*); SCS = Self-Compassion Scale (1*-5); SSS-8 = Somatic Symptom Score-8 (0-32*); EORTC QLQ-C30 = European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire - Core 30 (0*-100).
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