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Research Article: Self-Compassion and Anxiety in Adolescents with and without Anxiety Disorder

Date Published: 2023-07-07

Abstract:
Previous studies have linked self-compassion to mental health, specifically anxiety, in non-clinical adolescents, suggesting that self-compassion can be a protective factor against anxiety. This study compared the overall level of self-compassion and (un)compassionate self-responding in adolescents with and without an anxiety disorder and assessed the association between self-compassion and anxiety. This cross-sectional study included adolescents (12–19 years) with an anxiety disorder (N = 23) and a reference group (N = 28). Participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) and State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results showed that overall self-compassion and uncompassionate self-responding were significantly lower and higher in the clinical than the reference group, respectively, while compassionate self-responding did not differ between groups. In the clinical group, only uncompassionate self-responding was significantly associated with higher anxiety. In the reference group, uncompassionate self-responding showed a significant positive association with anxiety, and compassionate self-responding showed a significant negative association with anxiety. Although the results suggest that low uncompassionate self-responding may buffer against anxiety, the role of compassionate and uncompassionate self-responding remains unclear. An alternative explanation is that the uncompassionate self-responding items measure the presence of psychopathology in adolescents with an anxiety disorder. More research on the construct validity of the SCS uncompassionate self-responding scale is needed.

Introduction:
Anxiety disorders are characterized by an elevated sensitivity to threat, as observed across symptoms reporting, behavioral, cognitive, and physiological responding, and underlying neural systems [1]. Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders in adolescents; international estimates indicate that 5% of youth meet the criteria for any anxiety disorder at a given time [2]. Anxiety disorders among youth impede family, psychosocial and academic functioning [3,4]. The chronicity and impairments…

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