Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Use of Latent Profiles to Explore the Multi-dimensionality of Self-compassion

  • ORIGINAL PAPER
  • Published:
Mindfulness Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

Self-compassion is a multi-dimensional construct; however, little is known about the multi-dimensionality because a composite self-compassion score is typically used. The purpose of this study was to explore profiles of the self-compassion dimensions using latent profile analysis.

Methods

Three healthy, independent samples completed assessments of self-compassion and psychological inflexibility (sample 1 N = 419), perceived stress (sample 2 N = 384), or perceived stress, anxiety, and depression (sample 3 N = 509).

Results

Similar profile patterns emerged across three independent samples. Profile differences in composite self-compassion revealed different underlying dimensional patterns that resulted in similar composite self-compassion scores. In addition, some profiles with different composite scores had similar levels of psychological inflexibility or perceived stress.

Conclusions

Although there is general support for the use of a composite score representing the relative balance of self-compassion, limitations to representing self-compassion with a single score are highlighted. Key limitations are clarity of what a composite score captures, specific mechanisms underlying the construct, and targeted intervention implications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. (2014). Auxiliary variables in mixture modeling: Three-step approaches using Mplus. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 21(3), 329–341.

  • Bauer, D. J., & Curran, P. J. (2003). Over extraction of latent trajectory classes: Much ado about nothing? Reply to Rindskopf (2003), Muthén (2003), and Cudeck and Henly (2003). Psychological Methods, 8, 384–393. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989x.8.3.384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bibeau, M., Dionne, F., & Leblanc, J. (2015). Can compassion meditation contribute to the development of psychotherapists’ empathy? A review. Mindfulness, 7, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0439-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bond, F. W., Hayes, S. C., Baer, R. A., Carpenter, K. M., Guenole, N., Orcutt, H. K., Waltz, T., & Zettle, R. D. (2011). Preliminary psychometric properties of the acceptance and action questionnaire II: A revised measure of psychological inflexibility and experiential avoidance. Behavior Therapy, 42, 676–688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2011.03.007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brenner, R. E., Health, P. J., Vogel, D. L., & Credé, M. (2017). Two is more valid than one: examining the factor structure of the self-compassion scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64, 696–707. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000211.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Celeux, G., & Soromenho, G. (1996). An entropy criterion for assessing the number of clusters in a mixture model. Journal of Classification, 13, 195–212. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01246098.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 386–396. https://doi.org/10.2307/2136404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, L. M., & Lanza, S. T. (2010). Latent class and latent transition analysis: with applications in the social, behavioral, and health sciences. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

  • Costa, J., Marôco, J., Pinto-Gouveia, J., Ferreira, C., & Castilho, P. (2016). Validation of the psychometric properties of the Self-Compassion Scale. Testing the factorial validity and factorial invariance of the measure among borderline personality disorder, anxiety disorder, eating disorder and general populations. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 23, 460–468. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.1974.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falconer, C. J., King, J. A., & Brewin, C. R. (2015). Demonstrating mood repair with a situation-based measure of self-compassion and self-criticism. Psychology and Psychotherapy, 88, 351–365. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12056.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, W. A. (1959). Three multivariate models: factor analysis, latent structure analysis, and latent profile analysis. Psychometrika, 24, 229–252. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02289845.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, P. (2005). Compassion: conceptualisations, research and use in psychotherapy. London: Routledge.

  • Gilbert, P. (2007). Psychotherapy and counseling for depression. Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446279830.

  • Gilbert, P. (2009). The compassionate mind: A new approach to life's challenges. London: Constable & Robinson.

  • Gilbert, P., & Irons, C. (2005). Focused therapies and compassionate mind training for shame and self-attacking. In P. Gilbert (Ed.), Compassion: Conceptualizations, research and use in psychotherapy (pp. 263–325). London: Routledge.

  • Gilbert, P., McEwan, K., Matos, M., & Rivis, A. (2011). Fears of compassion: development of three self-report measures. Psychology and Psychotherapy, 84(3), 239–255. https://doi.org/10.1348/147608310x526511.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gudicha, D. W., Tekle, F. B., & Vermunt, J. K. (2016). Power and sample size computation for Wald tests in latent class models. Journal of Classification, 33, 30–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00357-016-9199-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, J. D., & Crawford, J. R. (2005). The short-form version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21): construct validity and normative data in a large non-clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 227–239. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466505x29657.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Körner, A., Coroiu, A., Copeland, L., Gomez-Garibello, C., Albani, C., Zenger, M., & Brähler, E. (2015). The role of self-compassion in buffering symptoms of depression in the general population. PLoS One, 10(10), e0136598. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0136598.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kriegar, T., Altenstein, D., Baettig, I., Doerig, N., & Holtforth, M. G. (2013). Self-compassion in depression: associations with depressive symptoms, rumination, and avoidance in depressed outpatients. Behavior Therapy, 44, 501–513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2013.04.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Longe, O., Maratos, F. A., Gilbert, P., Evans, G., Volker, F., Rockliff, H., & Rippon, G. (2010). Having a word with yourself: neural correlates of self-criticism and self-reassurance. Neuroimage, 49, 1849–1856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.09.019.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • López, A., Sanderman, R., Smink, A., Zhang, Y., van Sonderen, E., Ranchor, A., & Schroevers, M. J. (2015). A reconsideration of the Self-Compassion Scale’s total score: self-compassion versus self-criticism. PLoS One, 10(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0132940.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • MacBeth, A., & Gumley, A. (2012). Exploring compassion: a meta-analysis of the association between self-compassion and psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review, 32, 545–552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2012.06.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., Ludtke, O., Trautweign, U., & Morin, A. J. S. (2009). Classical latent profile analysis of academic self-concept dimensions: synergy of person- and variable-centered approaches to theoretical models of self-concept. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 16, 191–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510902751010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, E.-J., & Brockman, R. N. (2016). The relationships between psychological flexibility, self-compassion, and emotional well-being. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly, 30, 60–72. https://doi.org/10.1891/0889-8391.30.1.60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morin, A. J. S., & Wang, J. C. K. (2016). A gentle introduction to mixture modeling using physical fitness data. In N. Ntoumanis, & N. Myers (Eds.), An introduction to intermediate and advanced statistical analyses for sport and exercise scientists (pp. 183–210). London: Wiley.

  • Muris, P., & Petrocchi, N. (2017). Protection or vulnerability? A meta-analysis of the relations between the positive and negative components of self-compassion and psychopathology. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 24, 373–383. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthen, B. O. (2001). Latent variable mixture modeling. In G. Marcoulides & R. Schumacker (Eds.), New developments and techniques in structure equation modeling (pp. 1–33). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

  • Muthén, L.K., Muthén, B.O. (2007) Online comment Re: what is a good value of entropy? Retrieved from http://www.statmodel.com/discussion/messages/13/2562.html?1237580237.

  • Neff, K. D. (2003). Self-compassion: an alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self and Identity, 2, 85–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860309032.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neff, K. D. (2016). Does self-compassion entail reduced self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification? A response to Muris, Otgaar, & Petrocchi (2016). Mindfulness, 7, 791–797. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0531-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neff, K. D., & Germer, C. (2017). Self-compassion and psychological well-being. In E.M. Seppala, E. Simon-Thomas, S.L. Brown, C.D. Cameron, & J. Doty (Eds.) Oxford handbook of compassion science. New York: Oxford University Press.

  • Neff, K. D., Long, P., Knox, M., Davidson, O., Kuchar, A., Costigan, A., Williamson, Z., Rohleder, N., Tóth-Király, I., & Breines, J. (2018). The forest and the trees: examining the association of self-compassion and its positive and negative components with psychological functioning. Self and Identity, 17, 627–645. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2018.1436587.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neff, K. D., Tóth-Király, I., Yarnell, L. M., Arimitsu, K., Castilho, P., Ghorbani, N., Guo, H. X., Jameson, H. K., Hupfeld, J., Hutz, C. S., Kotsou, I., Kyeong, W. L., Marin, J. M., Sirois, F. M., Souza, L. K., Svendsen, L. J., Wilkinson, R. B., & Mantzios, M. (2019). Examining the factor structure of the Self-Compassion Scale in 20 diverse samples: Support for use of a total score and six subscale scores. Psychological Assessment, 31, 27–45. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000629.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paulhus, D. L. (1991). Measurement and control of response bias. In J. P. Robinson, P. R. Shaver, & L. S. Wrightsman (Eds.), Measurement of personality and social psychological attitudes (pp. 17–59). San Diego: Academic Press.

  • Petrocchi, N., Dentale, F., & Gilbert, P. (2018). Self-reassurance, not self-esteem, serves as a buffer between self-criticism and depressive symptoms. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 92(3), 394–406. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, W. J. (2019). Self-compassion mindsets: the components of the self-compassion scale operate as a balanced system within individuals. Current Psychology, Online, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00452-1.

  • Porges, S. W. (2007). The polyvagal perspective. Biological Psychology, 74, 116–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.06.009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rockcliff, H., Gilbert, P., McEwan, K., Lightman, S., & Glover, D. (2008). A pilot exploration of heart rate variability and salivary cortisol responses to compassion-focused imagery. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 5, 132–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, S. L., Astin, J. A., Bishop, S. R., & Cordova, M. (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for health care professionals: results from a randomized trial. International Journal of Stress Management, 12, 164–176. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.12.2.164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tein, J. Y., Coxe, S., & Cham, H. (2013). Statistical power to detect the correct number of classes in latent profile analysis. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 20, 640–657. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2013.824781.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vermunt, J. K., & Magidson, J. (2002). Latent class cluster analysis. In J. A. Hagenaars & A. L. McCutcheon (Eds.) Applied latent class analysis (pp. 89–106). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

  • Williams, M. J., Dalgleish, T., Karl, A., & Kuyken, W. (2014). Examining the factor structures of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and the Self-Compassion Scale. Psychological Assessment, 26, 407–418. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035566.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, C. (2006). Evaluating latent class analysis models in qualitative phenotype identification. Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 50, 1090–1104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csda.2004.11.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kinesiology and Educational Psychology Department, Washington State University, PO Box 641410, Pullman, WA, 99164-1410, USA

    Sarah Ullrich-French & Anne E. Cox

Authors
  1. Sarah Ullrich-French
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anne E. Cox
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

SUF: designed and executed the study, conducted the data analyses, and wrote the paper. AEC: collaborated with the conceptualization of the study and writing of the study. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah Ullrich-French.

Ethics declarations

This study has been reviewed and approved by the Washington State University Institutional Review Board and has been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All participants gave informed consent prior to inclusion in this study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ullrich-French, S., Cox, A.E. The Use of Latent Profiles to Explore the Multi-dimensionality of Self-compassion. Mindfulness 11, 1483–1499 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01365-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01365-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation