Murray State Theses and Dissertations
Abstract
A large body of research has shown that romantic rejection is significantly related to the presence of clinical depression. Growing evidence suggests that self-compassion is significantly negatively associated with depression and other psychopathologies. However, no research has explored the interactive role that self-compassion plays in the relationship between romantic rejection and depression. The present study is the first of the literature to investigate the interaction of self-compassion and romantic rejection on depression. Consistent with the previous studies, romantic rejection was significantly associated with depression. However, a moderation analysis indicated that self-compassion did not moderate the relationship between romantic rejection and depression. Specifically, the conditional effect of self-compassion was the only significant predictor that accounted for the variance in depression. Notably, romantic rejection did not account for variance in predicting depression when self-compassion was also considered. Results suggest the importance of self-compassion as a potential protective factor to psychopathology, particularly depression. The implications for clinical application and future research studies are discussed.
Year manuscript completed
2017
Year degree awarded
2017
Author's Keywords
Depression, romantic rejection, self-compassion
Thesis Advisor
Michael Bordiei
Committee Chair
Michael Bordiei
Committee Member
Laura Liljequist
Committee Member
Jana Hackathorn
Committee Member
Alan Bakes
Document Type
Thesis
Recommended Citation
Chan, Imfong, "DOES BEING KIND TO ONESELF HELP FIGHT AGAINST DEPRESSION? THE POTENTIAL MODERATING ROLE OF SELF-COMPASSION IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ROMANTIC REJECTION AND DEPRESSION" (2017). Murray State Theses and Dissertations. 57.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/etd/57
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Thesis Signature Page for Imfong Chan - MS in Psychology - signed.pdf (272 kB)
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