Abstract
Based on Beck’s cognitive model, this study aimed to examine the mediating role of self-acceptance in the relationships between parenting behaviors and fears of compassion from others/for self. A set of questionnaires were completed by 684 undergraduate students from a university in Fujian Province in China, and Structural Equation Modelling was employed to analyze the data. The results showed that parental care was positively associated with self-approval and self-evaluation, whereas parental overprotection was negatively related to self-approval and self-evaluation. Furthermore, self-approval contributed to fear of compassion from others and for self subsequently, and self-evaluation only contributed to fear of compassion for self subsequently. These findings support the mediating role of self-acceptance in the relationship between parental care/overprotection and fears of compassion from others/for self. In addition, the study found that self-approval, rather than self-evaluation, played a mediating role between parental care/overprotection and fear of compassion from others.
Highlights
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Parental care and overprotection were indirectly related to fears of compassion from others and for self via self-acceptance.
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Self-approval and self-evaluation mediated the relationships between parental care/overprotection and fear of compassion for self.
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Self-approval but not self-evaluation mediated the relationships between parental care/overprotection and fear of compassion from others.
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This study was supported by the Chinese National Education Sciences Planning Fund for Young Scholars (No. CBA170255).
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Wang, J., Guo, M., Day, J. et al. Self-Acceptance Mediates the Relationship between Perceived Parenting Behaviors and Fears of Compassion. J Child Fam Stud 32, 744–755 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02522-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02522-8