The contribution of self-compassion to optimal self-esteem

Abstract

The aim of the research was to analyse the relationship between self-esteem and selfcompassion and to find out whether self-compassion increases optimal self-esteem. For the purposes of this study, optimal self-esteem was operationalized as the congruence between explicit and implicit self-esteem. 147 participants were recruited to a computer-based online study. Explicit self-esteem was measured with Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and explicit self-compassion was measured with Self- Compassion Scale (SCS). Self-esteem IAT and self-compassion IAT were developed to measure implicit self-esteem and implicit self-compassion. Regression analysis was performed to analyze which components and to what extent contribute to the congruence of explicit and implicit self-esteem. It was found that explicit selfcompassion predicted greater congruence between explicit and implicit self-esteem, implicit self-compassion did not have a significant effect. Also high self-efficacy predicted greater congruence between explicit and implicit self-esteem. It can be concluded, that self-compassion has a separate role in optimal self-esteem that cannot be described by the role of self-efficacy, as both self-compassion and self-efficacy independently predicted greater congruence between explicit and implicit self-esteem.