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Review
. 2023 Aug 3:16:2961-2975.
doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S402455. eCollection 2023.

Self-Esteem and Self-Compassion: A Narrative Review and Meta-Analysis on Their Links to Psychological Problems and Well-Being

Peter Muris  1   2 , Henry Otgaar  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Self-Esteem and Self-Compassion: A Narrative Review and Meta-Analysis on Their Links to Psychological Problems and Well-Being

Peter Muris et al. Psychol Res Behav Manag. .

Abstract

The present review addressed the relationship between two self-related concepts that are assumed to play a role in human resilience and well-being: self-esteem and self-compassion. Besides a theoretical exploration of both concepts, a meta-analysis (k = 76, N = 35,537 participants) was conducted to examine the magnitude of the relation between self-esteem and self-compassion and their links to indices of well-being and psychological problems. The average correlation between self-esteem and self-compassion was strong (r = 0.65, effect size = 0.71), suggesting that - despite some distinct features - the overlap between both self-related constructs is considerable. Self-esteem and self-compassion displayed relations of a similar magnitude to measures of well-being and psychological problems, and both concepts accounted for unique variance in these measures once controlling for their shared variance. Self-esteem and self-compassion can best be seen as complementary concepts and we invite researchers to look more at their joint protective role within a context of well-being and mental health as well as to their additive value in the treatment of people with psychological problems.

Keywords: interventions; psychological problems; resilience; self-compassion; self-esteem; well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram depicting the selection of articles that were included in the meta-analysis on self-esteem, self-compassion, and psychological problems/well-being.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Funnel plot of the studies reporting on the correlation between self-esteem and self-compassion.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Average effect sizes (r) found for the (partial) relations between self-compassion and self-esteem, on the one hand, and indices of well-being and psychological problems, on the other hand.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Model depicting the presumed role of self-esteem and self-compassion in resilience and well-being.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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