Self-Compassion in a Sample of Ex-Offenders

Lori Bristow

Advisor: June Tangney

Committee Members: James Maddux, Ali Weinstein

David J. King Hall, 2007B
November 29, 2010, 05:15 AM to 07:30 AM

Abstract:

Self-compassion has been defined by Neff (2003a) as being composed of three dimensions: self-kindness, a sense of common humanity, and mindful acceptance.  Although researchers have only recently become interested in studying self-compassion in its own right, the empirical research thus far illustrates that it has valuable benefits to one’s well-being.  For example, self-compassion is associated with fewer negative thoughts and emotions, and is inversely related to self-critical and pessimistic views (Neff, 2003a; Neff, 2003b). Furthermore, those with high self-compassion are more likely to accept responsibility for their actions and to perceive their mistakes more accurately than those with lower levels of self-compassion (Leary, Tate, Adams, Allen & Hancock, 2007).  This study set out to examine self-compassion and its relationship to indicators of psychological health, self-conscious emotions, aggression, substance dependence, criminogenic cognitions, and criminal behavior. Empathy was examined as a mediator between self-compassion and aggression, and self-compassion was examined as a moderator between shame-, guilt-, and anger-proneness and aggression. Data for this study were collected from 122 ex-offenders four years after their release from jail or prison as a part of their participation in a longitudinal criminal recidivism study.

 The results suggest the abbreviated self-compassion scale used in this study does not assess a unitary construct when used with an ex-offender sample.  Thus, four components of self-compassion were used in the analyses (Self-Kindness, Common Humanity, Self-Judgment, and Isolation).  Self-kindness and common humanity were positively related to optimism, self-esteem, and spirituality and only self-kindness was inversely related to cocaine dependence.  Self-judgment and isolation were inversely related to self-control, self-esteem, and life satisfaction and positively related to depression and anxiety.  Only self-kindness was inversely related to multiple types of aggression. Perspective taking partially mediated the relationship between self-kindness and aggression, indicating that compassion for ones self is a building block to being able to take the perspective of others.  The negative relationship between guilt and psychological aggression was stronger among those higher as opposed to lower in self-kindness.  No relationships were found between the components of self-compassion and illegal behavior or criminogenic thinking.  Mixed findings from this study highlight the importance of continued self-compassion research especially with ex-offender samples. It remains unclear if self-compassion is able to directly impact criminal behavior.