Self-compassion and physical health: Exploring the roles of perceived stress and health-promoting behaviors

Kristin J Homan, Fuschia M Sirois, Kristin J Homan, Fuschia M Sirois

Abstract

Growing evidence indicates that self-compassion is associated with better physical health, but the pathways that mediate this relationship are not well understood. This study tested a serial mediation model that linked self-compassion, perceived stress, health behaviors, and a comprehensive index of physical health. A sample of 176 individuals completed an online survey posted on Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Self-compassion had an indirect effect on physical health via both mediators and through the sequential pathway, suggesting that taking a kind, accepting and mindful stance toward one's flaws and failures may have benefits for reducing stress and promoting health behaviors.

Keywords: health; health behavior; self-compassion; stress.

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Proposed serial mediation model linking self-compassion and physical health through perceived stress and health behaviors.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Conceptual diagram linking self-compassion and physical health through perceived stress and health behaviors. Values presented are standardized path coefficients with bootstrap standard errors in parentheses. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Conceptual diagram of alternate model linking self-compassion and physical health through health behaviors and perceived stress. Values presented are standardized path coefficients with bootstrap standard errors in parentheses. *p < .05, ***p < .001.

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Source: PubMed

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