Behind women's body image-focused shame: Exploring the role of fears of compassion and self-criticism

Purpose: Recent studies seem to support that being open to compassion from self and others is key for psychological and social well-being. In particular, findings indicated that fears of affiliative emotions are associated with negative affect and difficulties in threat regulation. The current study examined a path model which tested the direct and indirect effect of fears of compassion on both externalized and internalized body image-related shame, and the potential mediator role of self-criticism on these relationships. Methods: In this study participated 651 Portuguese women, aged between 18 and 55, from the general population who completed a set of self-report measures of fears of compassion, self-criticism, and body image-related shame. Results: The tested model accounted for 53% of externalized and 45% of internalized body image shame's variance and revealed an excellent fit. Findings corroborated the plausibility of the hypothesized model suggesting that fears of self-compassion and receiving compassion from others are positively associated with body image shame, and that self-criticism is a significant mediator of these associations, even when controlling for the effects of age and BMI. Conclusions: These findings highlight the relevance of addressing fears of compassion and critical forms of selfrelating in the understanding and management of body image-related difficulties. This study seems to have important clinical implications by suggesting the pertinence of the cultivation of compassionate abilities and attitudes, as adaptive self-regulatory strategies to target body image difficulties.