Självmedkänsla ett relativt nytt begrepp och anses vara en viktig faktor för psykisk hälsa och för ett hälsosamt beteende och kan tänkas utgöra ett skydd mot empatitrötthet och utbrändhet. Människor i vård- och omsorgsyrken anses utsatta och man talar mycket om vikten att vårda sig själv. Självmedkänsla är en förmåga man kan ”öva upp” vilket gör det ytterligare intressant. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka självmedkänsla hos vårdpersonal inom psykiatrisk öppenvård och att få mer kunskap om hur behandlare hanterar misslyckanden och svårigheter. Studien har haft både en kvantitativ och en kvalitativ ansats. En enkät (42 svarande) baserad på en översättning av Self-compassion Scale, som mäter självmedkänsla och tre intervjuer har bearbetats. I resultatet framkommer att det med avseende på självmedkänsla var fördelaktigt att vara man, äldre, att ha antigen kort eller lång erfarenhet i yrket eller att ha steg ett-utbildning. Det framkom i den kvalitativa analysen en rad copingstrategier som individer använder sig av för att hantera misslyckande. Dessa sorterades in under följande teman: att hämta kraft från andra, att hämta kraft inifrån, att ta hand om sig samt att luta sig mot sina livserfarenheter. Självmedkänsla är inte ett självgående lokomotiv utan behöver bränsle, från andra, inifrån individen själv och från livserfarenheterna.

Stress är ett växande samhällsproblem och står för en tredjedel av alla sjukskrivningar i Sverige. Många företag uppger att de inte har metoder för att hantera stress. Därmed finns ett stort behov av effektiva metoder för detta. Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) verkar vara en effektiv metod för att minska stress, men verkningsmekanismerna är ej helt fastställda. Både mindfulness och självmedkänsla förefaller kunna ha inverkan på stress. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilken relation mindfulness och självmedkänsla har till upplevd stress bland universitetsstudenter samt om något av begreppen har en starkare relation till upplevd stress än det andra. Tre validerade självskattningsinstrument, Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionaire (FFMQ-S) och Perceived Stress Scale-14 (PSS-14), administrerades till 203 universitetsstudenter. I enlighet med förväntningarna fanns det ett statistiskt signifikant samband mellan FFMQ och SCS. Regressionsanalyser visade att både FFMQ och SCS predicerade poäng på PSS-14 och att SCS kunde predicera poäng på  PSS-14 i högre grad än FFMQ. Kön var också en signifikant prediktor av poäng på PSS-14, men dess prediktiva värde var ej signifikant när FFMQ och SCS inkluderades i regressionsmodellen. Fyndet tyder på att självmedkänsla är en viktig del i hanteringen av stress och bidrar med en ledtråd i verkningsmekanismerna i MBSR och andra copingstrategier. Mer forskning behövs för att vidare utreda kausalitet och hur de olika komponenterna i självmedkänsla verkar på upplevd stress. / Stress is a growing social problem which accounts for a third of all sick leave in Sweden. Many companies say they do not have methods to manage stress. Thus there is a great need for effective methods to manage stress with. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an effective method to reduce stress, however the mechanisms are not completely understood. Research indicates that Self-compassion seems to have a significant role. Both mindfulness and self-compassion hence seems to be able to have an impact on stress. The purpose of this study is to examine what relationship mindfulness and self-compassion has with perceived stress, and if any of the concepts has a stronger relationship to perceived stress than the other. Three validated self-report instruments, Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and Perceived Stress Scale-14 (PSS14), were administered to 203 university students. The collected data was analyzed with regression analysis. In line with expectations, mindfulness and self-compassion correlated. The results also indicated that both FFMQ and SCS can predict PSS-14 scores, and that scores on SCS could predict scores on PSS-14 to a greater extent than FFMQ could. Gender did also significantly predict scores on PSS-14, but it did not have any significant predictive value when SCS and FFMQ was included in the regression analysis. These findings suggests that self-compassion is an important part of managing stress and therefore might be a significant mechanism of action of MBSR and other coping strategies. More research is needed to further investigate causality, and the function of the various components of self-compassion on perceived stress.

Past research indicates that self-compassion has positive implications for psychological health and functioning. However, as a newly specified construct, the literature regarding self-compassion could benefit from a more thorough validation of the primary scale used in this area of research, the Self-Compassion Scale. In the present study, structural path analysis (using Amos) was used to explore the criterion validity of the SCS with four variables which have been theorized to be relevant to self-compassion (caregiver emotional responsiveness, fear of emotion, internalized spirituality, and achievement goal orientation). Initial hypothesis testing indicated support for the path model, with the exception of achievement goals which were not significantly associated with self-compassion. Trimming these paths in a subsequent analysis improved model fit. Interestingly, further analyses of the model indicated that the pairing of participant and parent gender produced substantial differences in path coefficients. Next, correlational and factor analytic methods were used to test the construct validity of the SCS. Correlational analyses found adequate convergent construct validity but some lack of divergent validity between SCS dimensions and conceptually similar constructs (i.e., fear of emotion, social connectedness and self-criticism). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a two-factor model fit the data better than the one-factor model proposed by the author of the SCS. The incremental validity of the two-factor model was supported by incorporating a two-factor SCS in the path analysis. In sum, these findings generally support the criterion validity of the SCS through meaningful associations with theoretically relevant variables but cautions that these associations are strongly influenced by gender. It is also strongly recommended that a two-factor model of the SCS be explored in further research to ascertain its incremental utility for understanding self-compassion’s positive effects on psychological health.

The psychological benefits of self-compassion, a construct associated with adaptively dealing with emotional suffering from life's problems appear to overlap with those of trait resiliency in terms of theoretical underpinnings and outcome research. This study investigated the relationship between self-compassion, personality, and gender in order to shed light on the construct's relevance to an existing framework of resiliency personality research. One hundred and twenty-three college students completed the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and Self-compassion Scale (SCS). A cluster-analysis of the BFI scores yielded three cluster prototypes consistent with overcontrolled, undercontrolled, and resilient personality prototypes identified in previous studies of children and adult community samples. Analyses revealed resilient individuals reported significantly higher overall Self-compassion (M = 3.08, SD = .25) compared to both overcontrolled (M = 2.85, SD = .20, t = -4.32, p <= .00) and undercontrolled types (M = 2.90, SD = .25, t = 3.53, p <= .00). Interestingly, there were no significant differences between overcontrolled and undercontrolled types or between men and women, on overall Self-compassion. A two by three MANOVA of gender and personality prototype on the SCS revealed a significant interaction on overall Self-compassion score (F = 3.92, p <= .02) and the Common Humanity subscale (F = 3.81, p <= .03). Post hoc analyses were conducted to examine the nature of the gender and personality interactions. The theoretical issues raised by these results are discussed and recommendations are made for utilizing self-compassion in treatment and future research.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis focuses on the concept of self-compassion - a healthy attitude toward oneself which could be more easily attainable than unconditional self-acceptance and have less downsides than self-esteem. The first part of the thesis offers the most widely used conceptualisation of self-compassion, a comparison between self-compassion, self-esteem and unconditional self-acceptance, a summary of application areas of self-compassion, a list of relevant psychometric tools and a description of the Czech translation of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-CZ). The second part of the thesis consists of a quantitative study designed to further assess the construct validity of the SCS-CZ using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), the trait form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI X2) and the Unconditional Positive Self-Regard Scale (UPSRS) and to explore the connection between self-compassion and unconditional positive self-regard. A battery of web-based inventories was administered to a non-clinical sample (n = 415). The SCS-CZ shows a strong negative correlation with the BDI-II and the STAI X2, and a strong positive correlation with the UPSRS. The SCS-CZ is a valid measure of self-compasssion, suitable for comparing groups and population samples. For drawing conclusions about individuals, it is...

No description available.