Determining the potential links of self-compassion with eating pathology and body image among women and men : a cross-sectional mediational study

This study examined whether rumination, shame, self-criticism, and perfectionism mediate the previously established link between self-compassion and both eating and body image concerns. A cross-sectional online survey was completed by a community sample of non-clinical adult women (n = 369) and men (n = 201). Participants completed standardised measures of self-compassion (predictor), rumination, external shame, perfectionism and self-criticism (mediating variables), and eating pathology and body image (criterion variables). Path analyses confirmed that higher self-compassion was serially linked to lower eating pathology and body dissatisfaction through comparative self-criticism and external shame. Compared with women, the association between higher self-compassion and lower body dissatisfaction was weaker in men. However, there were no mediating effects of rumination, perfectionism, or internalized self-criticism. Overall results indicate notable similarities between women and men, and emphasise the potential value of targeting external shame during eating disorder prevention and treatment. Longitudinal study of these constructs is warranted in future research.