Self-Compassion Reduces the Destructive Effects of Perceived Stress on Psychological Well-Being and Self-Care Behaviors: Results from Type II Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Roghieh Majidzadeh; Sajjad Rezaei; Bahman Akbari

doi:10.18502/ijdo.v14i4.11226

Roghieh Majidzadeh PhD Student in Psychology, Department of Psychology, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran.
Sajjad Rezaei Assistant Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
Bahman Akbari Full Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijdo.v14i4.11226

Keywords: Stress, Psychological, Self-compassion, Diabetes type 2, Self-care

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship of perceived stress with physiological well-being and self-care behaviors among patients suffering from type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Materials and Methods: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, 369 patients with T2DM were selected through purposive and consecutive sampling from the cities of Rasht and Rezvanshahr (Northern Iran) in 2020-21. The participants completed the perceived stress scale (PSS-4), summary of diabetes self-care activities (SDSCA) questionnaire, Ryff's scale of psychological well-being (RSPWB), and self-compassion scale (SCS-SF). The data were processed through structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS-24. Bootstrapping was carried out in MACRO to analyze the mediating relationships.

Results: The perceived stress had a negative and significant correlation with self-compassion (r= -0.456), psychological well-being (r= -0.699), and self-care behaviors (r= -0.671) (For all cases P< 0.01). In addition, self-compassion had a positive and significant relationship with psychological well-being (r= 0.760) and selfcare behaviors (r= 0.657) (P< 0.01). The modified structural model had the desired fitting with the collected data (CFI= 0.955, RMSEA= 0.079, χ 2 /df= 2.842). Following the bootstrapping analysis, self-compassion significantly mediates the relationship between perceived stress, psychological well-being (P< 0.0001), and self-care behaviors (P< 0.0001).

Conclusion: Self-compassion can serve as a shield against and reduce the destructive effects of stress on the psychological well-being and self-care behaviors of diabetic patients. The beneficial effects of self-compassion can be used in diabetic psychotherapy protocols to improve psychological well-being and self-care behaviors.