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Self-Compassion in Recovery Following Potentially Traumatic Stress: Longitudinal Study of At-Risk Youth

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Abstract

Despite promising theory, empirical study of the putative protective properties of self-compassion (SC) with respect to resilience to and recovery from traumatic stress is limited. The present study tested the theorized protective role(s) of SC with respect to trauma-related psychopathology over time among an at-risk sample of adolescents (N = 64, 26 % females, M(SD) age  = 17.5(1.07) years-old, range age  = 15–19; grades 9–12) directly exposed to a potentially traumatic stressful event – the Mount Carmel Forest Fire Disaster. The longitudinal design involved three assessment time-points – within 30-days of the potentially traumatic event (T1) and then at 3- (T2) and 6-months (T3) follow-up intervals. Consistent with prediction, multi-level modeling of mediation documented the prospective protective function(s) of SC, above and beyond dispositional mindfulness, with respect to posttraumatic stress and panic symptoms, depressive symptoms, and suicidality symptoms, but not well-being. The findings are discussed, theoretically, with respect to SC as a malleable protective factor for trauma-related psychopathology outcomes; and, clinically, with respect to SC as a target for future trauma-related selective-prevention and -early intervention research.

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Notes

  1. Students belonged to multiple within-grade class units, such that only 4 possible level-3 groups (i.e., grades) may be tested. There were therefore an insufficient number of potential level-3 units to test the relative improved fit of a 3- relative to 2-level models. An insufficient number of groups at level-3 relative to parameters to be estimated results in problems with model convergence, unreliable level-3 parameter estimates, and underpowered level 3 analyses (Singer and Willett 2003; Tasca et al. 2009). Accordingly, sampling of youth was designed a priori to maximize independence of observations for a 2- rather than 3-level model.

  2. Pseudo-r 2 = sigma-hatε 2 (unconditional means model) - sigma-hatε 2 (unconditional growth model) / sigma-hatε 2 (unconditional means model)] (Singer and Willett 2003, p. 103)

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Acknowledgement

Dr. Bernstein recognizes the funding support from the Israeli Council for Higher Education Yigal Alon Fellowship, the European Union FP-7 Marie Curie Fellowship International Reintegration Grant, Psychology Beyond Borders Mission Award, Israel Science Foundation, the University of Haifa Research Authority Exploratory Grant, and the Rothschild-Caesarea Foundation’s Returning Scientists Project at the University of Haifa. Mr. Zvielli recognizes the support from the University of Haifa President’s Doctoral Fellowship Program.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, 31905, Israel

    Mordechai Zeller, Kim Yuval, Yaara Nitzan-Assayag & Amit Bernstein

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  1. Mordechai Zeller
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Correspondence to Amit Bernstein.

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Zeller, M., Yuval, K., Nitzan-Assayag, Y. et al. Self-Compassion in Recovery Following Potentially Traumatic Stress: Longitudinal Study of At-Risk Youth. J Abnorm Child Psychol 43, 645–653 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9937-y

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