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A worthy self is a caring self: Examining the developmental relations between self-esteem and self-compassion in adolescents
Donald, James N. Ciarrochi, Joseph Parker, Philip D. Sahdra, Baljinder K. Marshall, Sarah L. Guo, Jiesi
Donald, James N.
Ciarrochi, Joseph
Parker, Philip D.
Sahdra, Baljinder K.
Marshall, Sarah L.
Guo, Jiesi
Abstract
Objective: Self‐compassion has been framed as a healthy alternative to self‐esteem, as it is nonevaluative. However, rather than being alternatives, it may be that the two constructs develop in a mutually reinforcing way. The present study tested this possibility among adolescents. Method: A large adolescent sample (N = 2,809; 49.8% female) reported levels of trait self‐esteem and self‐compassion annually for 4 years. Autoregressive cross‐lagged structural equation models were used to estimate the reciprocal longitudinal relations between the two constructs. Results: Self‐esteem consistently predicted changes in self‐compassion across the 4 years of the study, but not vice versa. Conclusions: Self‐esteem appears to be an important antecedent of the development of self‐compassion, perhaps because the capacity to extend compassion toward the self depends on one's appraisals of worthiness. These findings add important insights to our theoretical understanding of the development of self‐compassion.
Keywords
adolescent development, longitudinal, self-compassion, self-esteem, structural equation modeling
Date
2018
Type
Journal article
Journal
Journal of Personality
Book
Volume
86
Issue
4
Page Range
619-630
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Positive Psychology and Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as green open access
License
File Access
Controlled
Open
Open
Notes
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Donald, JN, Ciarrochi, J, Parker, PD, Sahdra, BK, Marshall, SL, Guo, J. A worthy self is a caring self: Examining the developmental relations between self‐esteem and self‐compassion in adolescents. Journal of Personality. 2018; 86: 619– 630, which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jopy.12340 . This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.