Abstract
Objectives
In order to provide a broad overview of the body of peer-reviewed literature on self-compassion and close relationships, this scoping review describes how self-compassion relates to thoughts, feelings, and behaviors within the context of current personal relationships between family members, romantic partners, friends, or others referred to as “close.”
Methods
Two reviewers independently screened peer-reviewed articles retrieved based on a defined search strategy within three online databases, extracted data from 72 articles that met inclusion criteria by consensus, and summarized findings thematically.
Results
With few exceptions, self-compassion is positively associated with secure attachment, adaptive parenting behaviors, healthy family, romantic and friendship functioning, and constructive conflict and transgression repair behavior. In families, evidence suggests that parent self-compassion is linked to supportive parenting behavior, which is in turn linked to higher levels of child self-compassion.
Conclusions
Self-compassion is associated with a wide variety of close interpersonal relationship benefits. These associations may be complex and bidirectional, such that positive social relationships promote self-compassion, while self-compassion promotes relational and emotional well-being. For a deeper understanding of these nuances and to establish causality, future research should include heterogeneous samples, longitudinal designs, and observational and multi-informant methodologies, and consider attachment style and personality trait covariates. The potential implications for interventional research are discussed.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Jennifer Walker, MLS, who provided invaluable guidance with the literature review search.
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CL was supported by a T32 Research Fellowship, grant number AT003378, from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
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CL developed the idea for this paper, co-conducted the literature review, wrote the first draft of this paper, and managed editing. SR co-conducted the literature review, summarized the quantitative data, and assisted with the first draft and editing of the final manuscript. KB and JP assisted with study design, contributed decisions on inclusion and exclusion of articles, provided statistical input, and edited the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript.
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KB discloses that she is a mindful self-compassion instructor. All other authors have no conflicts to disclose.
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Lathren, C.R., Rao, S.S., Park, J. et al. Self-Compassion and Current Close Interpersonal Relationships: a Scoping Literature Review. Mindfulness 12, 1078–1093 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01566-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01566-5