Understanding the Self-compassionate Mindset in Older Adults by Ashley Batts Allen Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Mark R. Leary, Supervisor ___________________________ Rick Hoyle ___________________________ Laura Richman ___________________________ Linda George Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience in the Graduate School of Duke University 2011 i v ABSTRACT Understanding the Self-compassionate Mindset in Older Adults by Ashley Batts Allen Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Mark R. Leary, Supervisor ___________________________ Rick Hoyle ___________________________ Laura Richman ___________________________ Linda George An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience in the Graduate School of Duke University 2011 Copyright by Ashley Batts Allen 2011 Abstract Self-compassion has been shown to predict well-being, possibly by buffering people against the unpleasant emotional and cognitive reactions that accompany negative life events. Although most previous research has been conducted with young adults, preliminary studies show that self-compassion may be beneficial for older adults. Three studies tested self-compassion’s impact on thoughts, emotions, and behaviors associated with aging using samples of individuals between the ages of 62 and 104. Study 1 examined self-compassion as it relates to health promotion behaviors, specifically use of assistance and trying new activities. Although some findings supported the hypotheses, results showed that high and low self-compassionate individuals did not differ in their use of assistance or willingness to try new activities. Study 2 implemented a brief self- compassion manipulation to test its effects on thoughts and emotions. Unfortunately, random assignment failed to equate the experimental conditions, rendering the results difficult to interpret. After controlling for baseline self-compassion, the manipulation did not have the predicted effects on well-being. In fact, participants seemed to benefit more when merely writing about negative events than when writing about them in a self- compassionate fashion. Finally, Study 3 examined self-compassionate cognitions, specifically whether or not self-compassionate thoughts mediate the relationship between trait self-compassion and emotional well-being. Self-compassionate participants did think differently than their low self-compassion counterparts, and these cognitions mediated the relationship between self-compassion and positivity of their responses. However, iv cognitions did not mediate the relationship between trait self-compassion and emotion outcomes. Two possible explanations for the unexpected results of the three studies include the relatively healthy nature of the sample and the strength of the self-compassion manipulation. Suggestions for future research include examining how self-compassion relates to the motivations behind engaging in health promotion, allowing participants to write more freely in the self-compassion manipulations, and bringing self-compassion research with older adults into controlled laboratory settings. v Contents Abstract...........................................................................................................................................iv! List of Tables..................................................................................................................................ix! List of Figures..................................................................................................................................x! Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................................xi! 1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................1! 1.1 Background.........................................................................................................................2! 1.2 Predictors of Well-being......................................................................................................4! 1.2.1 Cognitive Appraisals......................................................................................................4! 1.2.2 Social Support................................................................................................................6! 1.2.3 Self-esteem.....................................................................................................................7! 1.2.4 Coping............................................................................................................................8! 1.2.5 Summary......................................................................................................................10! 1.3 Self-compassion................................................................................................................10! 1.3.1 Self-compassion and Well-being..................................................................................10! 1.3.2 Self-compassion and Aging..........................................................................................12! 1.4 Preliminary Studies...........................................................................................................15! 2. Study 1: Self-compassion and Health-promoting Behavior......................................................20! 2.1 Methods.............................................................................................................................21! 2.1.1 Participants...................................................................................................................21! 2.1.2 Procedure......................................................................................................................21! 2.1.3 Materials.......................................................................................................................22! vi 2.2 Results...............................................................................................................................27! 2.2.1 General Well-being......................................................................................................27! 2.2.2 Use of Assistance.........................................................................................................27! 2.2.3 Trying New Activities..................................................................................................30! 2.3 Discussion.........................................................................................................................33! 3. Study 2: Inducing State Self-compassion..................................................................................37! 3.1 Methods.............................................................................................................................38! 3.1.1 Participants...................................................................................................................38! 3.1.2 Procedure......................................................................................................................39! 3.1.3 Materials.......................................................................................................................41! 3.2 Results...............................................................................................................................42! 3.2.1 Preliminary Analyses...................................................................................................42! 3.2.2 Verification of Comparability of Treatment Groups....................................................42! 3.2.3 Manipulation Check.....................................................................................................43! 3.2.4 Effects of Writing Self-compassionately.....................................................................44! 3.2.4.1 Emotions...............................................................................................................44! 3.2.4.2 Self-blame.............................................................................................................46! 3.2.4.3 Successful Aging..................................................................................................48! 3.2.4.4 Age-related Events................................................................................................49! 3.2.4.5 Self-compassion....................................................................................................49! 3.3 Discussion.........................................................................................................................50! 4. Study 3: Self-compassionate Cognitions...................................................................................54! 4.1 Methods.............................................................................................................................56! vii 4.1.1 Participants...................................................................................................................56! 4.1.2 Procedure......................................................................................................................56! 4.1.3 Materials.......................................................................................................................58! 4.2 Results...............................................................................................................................59! 4.2.1 Preliminary Analyses...................................................................................................59! 4.2.2 Verification of Comparability of Treatment Groups....................................................60! 4.2.3 Manipulation Check.....................................................................................................60! 4.2.4 Self-compassionate Cognitions....................................................................................61! 4.2.5 Mediation Analyses......................................................................................................63! 4.2.6 Moderated Mediation Analyses....................................................................................67! 4.3 Discussion.........................................................................................................................71! 5. General Discussion....................................................................................................................76! 5.1 Primary Findings...............................................................................................................76! 5.2 Explanations for Non-replicated Findings.........................................................................81! 5.3 Directions for Future Research..........................................................................................84! 5.4 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................86! Tables............................................................................................................................................88! Figures........................................................................................................................................103! Appendices...................................................................................................................................108! References....................................................................................................................................152! Biography.....................................................................................................................................162! viii List of Tables Table 1: Means, Standard Deviations, Alphas, and Bivariate Correlations for Self-compassion, Successful Aging, Depression, Taking a Vitamin, and Exercising Frequency..............................88! Table 2: Bivariate Correlations between Self-compassion and Difficulty, Use of Assistance, Embarrassment, and Public Concealment across Hearing, Memory and Pain Dimensions..........89! Table 3: Hierarchical Regression Analyses Testing Self-compassion as a Moderator of Hearing Difficulty and Hearing Outcomes..................................................................................................91! Table 4: Hierarchical Regression Analyses Testing Self-compassion as a Moderator of Memory Difficulty and Memory Outcomes.................................................................................................92! Table 5: Hierarchical Regression Analyses Testing Self-compassion as a Moderator of Pain Difficulty and Pain Outcomes........................................................................................................93! Table 6: Logistic Regression Analyses Testing the Role of Self-compassion as a Moderator in the Relationship between Walking Difficulty and Walking Outcomes...............................................94! Table 7: Means and Standard Deviations of Trying New Activities Variables and Bivariate Correlations with Self-compassion................................................................................................95! Table 8: Means, standard deviations, and bivariate correlations for self-compassion, self-esteem, positive and negative self-compassionate cognitions, and the tone of participants’ responses.....96! Table 9: Hierarchical Regression Analyses Examining the Relationship between Self-compassion, Condition, and their Interaction on Self-compassionate Cognitions.............................................98! Table 10: Mediation of the Effect of Self-compassion on Tone of Participants’ Responses to the Event Through Positive Self-compassionate Cognitions and Negative Self-compassionate Cognitions......................................................................................................................................99! Table 11: Mediation of the Effect of Self-compassion on the Extent to which Participants Said Their Attitude Helped Them Adjust to the Age-Related Event Through Positive Self- compassionate Cognitions and Negative Self-compassionate Cognitions..................................100! Table 12: Moderated Mediation of the Effect of Self-compassion on the Tone of Participants’ Responses through Positive Self-compassionate Cognitions as Moderated by Condition..........101! Table 13: Moderated Mediation of the Effect of Self-compassion on the Extent to which Participants said their Attitude Helped them Adjust to the Age-related Event through Positive Self-compassionate Cognitions as Moderated by Condition.......................................................102! ix List of Figures Figure 1: Univariate Analyses of the Significant Interaction of Self-compassion and Condition on Attentiveness................................................................................................................................103! Figure 2: Univariate Analyses of the Significant Interaction of Self-compassion and Condition on Fatigue..........................................................................................................................................104! Figure 3: Interaction of Self-compassion and Coded Preventability on the Extent to which the Participant Saw the Event as Being His or Her Fault..................................................................105! Figure 4: Self-compassion by Condition Interaction on Self-compassion at Time 2..................106! Figure 5: Moderated Mediation Model examining possible moderation of condition in the relationship between self-compassion and positive self-compassionate cognitions when predicting the overall tone of participants’ responses...................................................................................107! x