Protection or Vulnerability? A Meta-Analysis of the Relations Between the Positive and Negative Components of Self-Compassion and Psychopathology
Muris and Petrocchi raise a measurement problem that changes how the whole self-compassion literature should be read. The standard scale contains two kinds of item: half describe self-compassion directly, as kindness to oneself, common humanity and mindfulness, and half describe its opposite, as self-judgment, isolation and over-identification, and the total score combines them. Across eighteen studies they show that the two halves behave differently. The positive items are associated with lower psychopathology, as the theory predicts. The negative items are associated with higher psychopathology, and more strongly so. Their argument is that a total score therefore mixes a protective factor with a vulnerability factor and reports the sum as one thing, which inflates the apparent benefit of self-compassion because much of the association is being carried by the presence of self-criticism rather than the absence of kindness. Their recommendation is to report the two separately. This is one side of a continuing argument, and this vault records both.
Muris and Petrocchi raise a measurement problem that changes how the whole self-compassion literature should be read. The standard scale contains two kinds of item: half describe self-compassion directly, as kindness to oneself, common humanity and mindfulness, and half describe its opposite, as self-judgment, isolation and over-identification, and the total score combines them. Across eighteen studies they show that the two halves behave differently. The positive items are associated with lower psychopathology, as the theory predicts. The negative items are associated with higher psychopathology, and more strongly so. Their argument is that a total score therefore mixes a protective factor with a vulnerability factor and reports the sum as one thing, which inflates the apparent benefit of self-compassion because much of the association is being carried by the presence of self-criticism rather than the absence of kindness. Their recommendation is to report the two separately. This is one side of a continuing argument, and this vault records both.
Written from the abstract, OpenAlex.
What our sources record
Reproduced as it was written when this source was checked, figures and all.
Muris, P. & Petrocchi, N. (2017). "Protection or Vulnerability? A Meta-Analysis of the Relations Between the Positive and Negative Components of Self-Compassion and Psychopathology." Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 24(2), 373-383. First published online 2016.
Where we use it
- Why You Are Kinder to Your Friends Than to Yourself, Why We Care
Reliability of this reference
The link below was matched against the publisher's record on title, first author and year, and all three agree.
The source
https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2005
DOI: 10.1002/cpp.2005