GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SELF-COMPASSION AMONG …
Transcript of GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SELF-COMPASSION AMONG …
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SELF-COMPASSION AMONG UNIVERSITY
STUDENTS
PriyankaPathak
Assistant Professor
P. G. Department of Psychology,
Veer Kunwar Singh University
Abstract
Self-compassion has gained popularity in the last two decades. It involves empathy, kindness,
concern, and support towards oneself in a difficult situation. The objective of this study was to
compare the gender differences in a different dimensions of self-compassion and self-
compassion among university students (male and female). Total 100 students (50 males and 50
female students) between 18-25 years were selected for this study. All the subjects were assessed
on the self-compassion scale (SCS) to analyze the self-compassion of both the groups of
students. To find out the significant difference between the male and female university students
in different dimensions of self-compassion and self-compassion, an independent sample t-test
was used. Findings of this study show that there is a significant difference between male and
female university students on isolation and self-compassion. But, no difference was found in
other dimensions (self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness, and
over-identification) of self-compassion.
Key Words: self-compassion, self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, isolation,
mindfulness, over-identification.
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In academic life, college students experience a higher level of stress, conflict, and
frustration, and it affects their psychological, physical as well as emotional health. Self –
compassion and its dimensions are positively related to well-being and negatively associated
with negative mental states. Studies show that low level of mindfulness (Cash &Whittingham,
2010) and low level of self-compassion (Lightsey& Barnes, 2007) results in psychological
distress and high levels of mindfulness (Brown & Ryan, 2003; Carmody& Baer, 2008; Howell et
al., 2008) and high self-compassion (Neely et al., 2009) related to well-being. Researches on
college students were less studied on self-compassion and its dimensions. So the main purpose of
this study was to find out the tendency of self-compassion among university students and along
with this, it was also to find out that if any significant difference between male and female
university students exists on self-compassion and its dimensions.
Self-compassion is not a new construct; it comes from the 2500-year-old Buddhist
tradition, but studies on self-compassion recently began in western countries. The Indian culture
believes in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which teaches us to love, respect, and care to people of the
entire universe. Still, at the same time, it is also necessary to do the same for our-self, and self-
compassion teaches the same. Self-compassion means compassion directed inward. Neff (2003)
defined self-compassion as an open-hearted way of relating to negative aspects of oneself and
one’s experience that enables greater emotional resilience and psychological well-being. Neff
(2003) suggested three main bi-dimensional key factors of self-compassion.
Self-kindness, the first dimension of self-compassion, involves being kind and
understanding toward oneself in failure and painful situations. On the other hand, self-judgment
involves harsh judgment and self-criticism toward oneself under challenging conditions.
Common humanity, the second dimension of self-compassion, indicates that happy or
painful experiences as not personal, but as all human beings. According to Neff (2009), it
involves recognizing that all humans are imperfect and that they fail and make mistakes. On the
other side, self-isolation includes different views from common humanity, which shows that
person seeing one’s experiences as separating and isolating in failure and pain.
Mindfulness, the third component of self-compassion, is most widely emerging concept
in the recent field of positive psychology. It is a pre-conceptual awareness that allows individual
to accept life’s most stressful and painful emotions without being judgmental or avoiding them
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(Gunaratana, 1993; Martin, 1997; Neff, 2003; Nisker, 1998; Rosenberg, 1999). It is a mental
state in which persons accept thoughts and feelings in their original form without modifying and
suppressing them. On the other hand, in over-identification, person exaggeratedly over-identifie
shis/her thoughts and feelings.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Self-compassion is a powerful motivating force for growth and strength which enables
the human being to face difficult situations and changes. A self-compassionate individual is
capable of recognizing the interconnections among all human nature and accepting oneself with
kindness and the non-judgmental way in a painful condition. Self-compassion is found to have a
significant positive association with the more excellent personal initiative for self-change and
self-improvement as well as with positive psychological functioning, which are happiness,
optimism, wisdom, curiosity, own initiative, and positive effect (Neff, Rude, & Kirkpatrick,
2007). Accordingly, self-compassionate individuals do not criticize themselves for mistakes, so it
is more likely that they will be open to admitting mistakes and taking on new challenges (Neff,
2009).
The main reason for this study on self-compassion in the context of gender is to find a
direction that is not very clear based on previous studies. Research evidence suggests that
generally females have a more interdependent sense of self (Cross & Madson, 1997; Gilligan,
1988) and to be more empathic than males (Eisenberg & Lennon, 1983; Zahn-Waxler, Cole, &
Barrett, 1991) so it means self-compassion is less accessible to men than women. On the other
hand, many studies show that females have lower levels of self-compassion than males (Neff,
2003; Neff, Hseih, Dejitthirat, 2005; Neff &McGehee, 2010), females tend to be more self-
critical and to have more of ruminative coping style than males (Leadbeater, Kuperminc, Blatt,
& Hertzog, 1999; Nolen-Hoeksema, Larson, & Grayson, 1999), suggesting that females may
have lower levels of self-compassion. while others have not found significant sex differences
(Iskender, 2009; Neff, Pisitsungkagarn, &Hseih, 2008; Raque-Bogdan, Ericson, Jackson, Martin,
& Bryan, 2011). Several studies have found that socialization process of women is based on the
norm of self-sacrifice, prioritizing the needs of others over their own, which may influence their
ability to give themselves compassion (Baker-Miller, 1986; Raffaelli &Ontai, 2004; Ruble &
Martin, 1998) along with this, it is also found that women are more involved in negative self-talk
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and to be more critical of themselves than males (Leadbeater, Kuperminc, Blatt, & Hertzog,
1999).
METHODOLOGY
Aim
The aim of this study to find gender difference in self-compassion among university students
(male and female).
Objectives
To study and compare the gender differences in different dimensions of self-compassion and
self-compassion among university students (male and female)
Hypothesis
1. There would be a significant difference in different dimensions (self-kindness, self-judgment,
common humanity, isolation, mindfulness, over-identification) of self-compassion among
university students (male and female).
2. There would be a significant difference in self-compassion among university students (male
and female).
Sample Total sample of 100 subjects (50 male and 50 female) university students was taken for
this study. The age range of the subjects was between 18 - 25 years. Data was collected from
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.
Tools
The investigator prepared the Socio-demographic data sheet for collecting information about
name, age, gender, and father’s education, mother’s education, and type of family.
Self-Compassion Scale (SCS): - It was developed by Neff (2003b) would be used to assess the
self-compassion of the students. It is a 26-item self report scale with six subscales would be used.
These subscales include- self – kindness, self–judgment, common humanity, isolation,
mindfulness, and over-identification. The scale aims to measure continual self-compassion. It is
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a five-point scale, and each item answered on a scale ranging from “almost never” to “almost
always”. Internal consistency of SCS is reported as .92, and internal consistency of the subscales
is range from .75 to .81. Test-retest reliability of self-compassion scale is reported as .93 (Neff,
2003b).
Procedure - Data collection started with a brief introduction to the purpose of the research.
Consent was obtained regarding the participant’s willingness to participate in the study. Before
collecting the data, instructions were given to the participant to fill the questionnaire. Before
responding to each statement,all participants were asked to read the instructions carefully.
Research Design It is a comparative study used to observe gender differences in different
dimensions of self-compassion and self – compassion among university students.
Statistical analysis All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS software version 16.
Descriptive analyses of the data were done to obtain mean, standard deviation. Independent
samples t-tests were used to find the difference between university students (male and female) on
different dimensions of self-compassion and self-compassion.
RESULTS
Table 1: Socio-demographic details of university students (male and female)
Variable Male student (N =50) Female student (N =50)
Mean SD
Mean SD
Age 19.58 1.4 18.7 .83
Mother’s
education
.76 1.07 2.64 1.33
Father’s
education
2.12 1.23 3.22 .86
Types of family 1.74 .44 1.30 .46
Table 1 shows the socio-demographic details of university students (male and female). It shows
the Mean and Standard Deviation of university students (male and female) on general
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characteristics including age, mother’s education, father’s education, and types of family. The
descriptive analysis revealed that the Mean age of male students was 19.58 and female students
were 18.7. It also shows the Mean and S.D. of university students (male and female) of mother’s
education was .76 and 2.64 and Mean and S.D of university students (male and female) of
father’s education 2.12 and 3.22 and Mean and S.D of university students (male and female) of
types of the family was 1.74 and 1.30 respectively.
Table 2: Comparison of university students (male and female) on different dimensions of
Self-Compassion
S. No
Self-compassion
Dimensions
Male
students(N=50)
Female
Students(N=50)
t-test
Mean ± S.D.
Mean ± S.D.
1 Self-Kindness 16.48(3.11)
16.90(2.78) .71
2 Self-judgement 15.26(2.46) 14.38(2.60) 1.73
3 Common humanity 14.04(2.22) 13.22(2.54) 1.71
4 Isolation 12.04(3.26) 10.66(2.37) 2.42*
5 Mindfulness 14.48(2.33) 13.98(2.81) .97
6 Over-identification 11.84(2.08) 11.14(2.37) 1.57
*p<.05
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Note⁚ S-K – Self-kindness, S-J – Self-judgment, C-H –Common humanity, Iso – Isolation, M-
Mindfulness. O-I –Over-identification
Table 2 shows the comparison of mean scores of university students (male and female) on
different dimensions of self-compassion. The results presented in Table 2 shows that the mean
scores of male (m= 12.04) and female (m=10.66) significantly differ on the isolation dimension
of self-compassion (t=2.42, P<.05). In other words, higher mean scores in case of male indicate
that they have more sense of isolation when they face difficult situations than females. In case of
other different dimensions (i.e., self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, mindfulness,
and over-identification ), the mean scores don’t differ significantly between male and female
university students.
Table 3: Comparison of university students (male and female) on self-compassion
Variable Male student (n=50) Female student (n=50) t-test
Mean SD Mean SD
Self-
compassion
84.14 8.33 80.28 8.03 2.36*
*p<.05
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
S-K S-J C-H Iso M 0-I
Male
Female
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Table 4 shows the comparison of mean scores of university students (male and female) on the
composite score of self-compassion. The results presented in Table 3 shows that the mean scores
of male (m= 84.14) and female (m=80.28) significantly differ on self-compassion (t=2.36,
P<.05). In other words, higher mean scores in the case of male indicate that they are more self-
compassionate than female university students.
Discussion - The aim of this study was to compare the gender differences in a different
dimension of self-compassion and self-compassion among university students (male and female).
It was hypothesized that there would be a significant difference in different dimensions (self-
kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness, over-identification) of self-
compassion and self-compassion among university students (male and female). Findings of this
study show that male and female university students differed in isolation (dimension of self-
compassion) and self-compassion. Studies related to gender differences in self-compassion have
been inconsistent, mixed, and have not been examined systematically. Some research-findings
have shown that adherence to masculine gender norms is associated with lower levels of self-
compassion (Reilly, Rochlen, &Awad, 2014). Besides this, many researches have indicated that
women have a greater tendency to judge themselves negatively so that women are more likely to
lack self-compassion than men. According to our hypothesis, there is a significant difference
between male and female university students in isolation dimension of self -compassion. People
in isolation, involves those who are likely to cut away from others when they experience feelings
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
Male Female
84.14
80.28
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of pain, shame, frustration, or inadequacy. Results of this study show that there is a significant
difference (t - value of 2.42 significant at 0.05 level of significance) between male and female
university students on isolation dimension. Thus, our hypothesis stands true and is approved by
the results of this study. It indicates that there has been difference among male and female
university students on the feeling of isolation or loneliness when they are suffering from painful
situations. This finding consistent with Mahon, Yarcheski, Yarcheski,Cannella and Hanks (2006)
found that out of 12 studies , nine studies showed boys were significantly lonelier than girls; only
two studies showed girls were significantly more alone than boys. Many studies indicated that
men are not as well socialized in the social-emotional area so they feel lonely more than women
( Bloom, Asher & White,1978; Hill, Rubin, & Peplau, 1976).
It was also hypothesized at the beginning of this study that there would besignificant
difference between male and female university students in different dimension of self –
compassion (self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, mindfulness, and over-
identification). Results of this study show that there is no significant difference between male
and female university students in self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, mindfulness,
and over-identification. Thus, this hypothesis is not accepted. It indicates that there has been no
difference among male and female university students on their ability to being kind and
understanding them in a problematic situation and on their capacity to be hostile, demeaning, and
critical of one’s self. They are similar in their ability to be criticized in a difficult situation.
Findings also indicate that there is no difference among male and female students on their ability
to construct individual inferences and purpose in all the experiences of their life and they both
showed the similar capacity to create and master their life purpose.They are also identical in their
ability to be aware, attentive, and accepting their present situations without judging them and on
their ability to over-identification.
The findings of this present study consistent with the previous studies of, Neff, Hseih,
and Dejitthirat (2005) found that there was a significant difference between male and female on
self-compassion. Results from Table 3 shows that there is a significant difference (t - value of
2.36 significant at 0.05 level of significance) between male and female university students on
self-compassion. Therefore, it accepts our hypothesis. This indicate that there has been
difference among male and female university students on their ability to behave with self-
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compassion and male university students are to be more self –compassionate than female
university students. Similar to the present study Neff, (2003) found in their study that there was
significant difference between females and males in self-compassion. He found that females
have lower levels of self-compassion than males. The main reason is that socialization process of
women which is based on self-sacrifice, prioritizing the needs of others over their own, etc. They
are ignoring themselves unconsciously. Consistent with the present study, Leadbeater et al.,
(1999) also found that male have more self-compassionate than female because females are more
involved in negative self-talk and to be more critical of themselves. Self-compassion makes it
easy to adjust to the areas of academics. Self-compassionate students coping more adaptively
with academic failures. It is a stronger predictor of good mental health, and it includes more
stable and less anger, social comparison, and public self-consciousness.
Conclusion – Findings of this study shows that male university students are more self-
compassionate than female university students. It may be due to a child’s early upbringing
impact on development of sense of self-compassion as they grow up into adults. However, there
is a need for more exploration of different factors related to self-compassion.
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