The role of decentering and self-compassion in self-esteem regulation: how meditation and metacognition shape the use of self-esteem regulation strategies

Introduction: Previous research has demonstrated that individuals’ levels of self-esteem strongly influence how they regulate and protect their self-esteem. However, it remains unclear to what extent these regulatory strategies are shaped by trainable psychological processes such as decentering and self-compassion.

Methods: Two studies were conducted to investigate the role of decentering and self-compassion in self-esteem regulation. Study 1 ( n = 230) examined whether decentering and self-compassion mediate the relationship between trait self-esteem and self-esteem regulation strategies. In addition, differences between experienced meditators and non-meditators in self-esteem, decentering, self-compassion, self-affirmation and self-protection were explored. Study 2 ( n = 66) employed a randomized controlled design to test the feasibility and preliminary short-term effects of two brief guided audio meditations intended to enhance decentering and self-compassion.

Results: In Study 1, multiple regression analyses revealed that decentering was associated with higher self-affirmation, while self-compassion was linked to lower self-protection. Conditional process path analysis further showed that self-esteem was positively associated with both decentering and self-compassion and had a significant indirect effect on self-protection via self-compassion. Moreover, compared to non-meditators, meditators reported higher levels of self-esteem, decentering, and self-compassion. In Study 2, both brief audio-based interventions led to increases in self-compassion and decentering relative to the control condition, with the decentering intervention showing the strongest effects on post-intervention outcomes.

Discussion: The findings indicate that decentering and self-compassion can be modifiable through brief meditative practices and may play an important role in the regulation of self-esteem. Enhancing these processes may represent a promising target for psychological interventions aimed at improving self-esteem regulation and resilience in individuals vulnerable to mental health problems.