How self-compassion moderates the associations of body image with eating disorder psychopathology, eating-related psychosocial impairment, and psychological distress: A longitudinal study in Chinese adolescents

Abstract

Although robust evidence supports the protective role of self-compassion in the links between body image, eating disorders (EDs), and mental well-being, previous research has predominantly used cross-sectional designs, focused on Western adult samples, and failed to distinguish between components of self-compassion, namely compassionate and uncompassionate self-responding. To address these gaps, we used a longitudinal design to examine how compassionate and uncompassionate self-responding moderated associations between body image (i.e., body dissatisfaction and body appreciation) and three outcome variables (i.e., ED psychopathology, eating-related psychosocial impairment, and psychological distress) among Chinese adolescents. A sample of 1428 adolescents (607 boys and 821 girls) participated in four waves of assessments over 18 months. A multilevel approach was used to test the moderation effects at within-person, between-person, and cross-levels separately for boys and girls. Results revealed sex-specific patterns: 1) at the within-person level, compassionate self-responding strengthened the associations between body image variables and ED psychopathology in boys, while uncompassionate self-responding weakened the effects of body appreciation on psychosocial impairment in girls; 2) compassionate self-responding attenuated the effects of body dissatisfaction and strengthened the effects of body appreciation at the between-person and/or cross-levels in girls only; 3) uncompassionate self-responding reinforced the links between body appreciation and/or body dissatisfaction and outcome variables in both sexes at the between-person and/or cross-levels. Findings provide a nuanced understanding of the differential aspects of self-compassion in body image, ED psychopathology, and mental health among adolescents, with important implications for culturally informed prevention strategies.