Brief self-compassion meditation training for body image distress in young adult women.

A one-week Internet-based self-compassion meditation training, shortened from three weeks to reduce dropout, was tested in 80 undergraduate women with body image concerns. Those randomly assigned to the training showed improvements in self-compassion and body image distress compared with a waitlist control group. Attrition was low, but compliance with daily meditation practice was poor. The authors suggest that even brief exposure to self-compassion principles may help reduce body image distress, though better engagement strategies are needed.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Self-compassion interventions may be uniquely suited to address body image distress (BID), as change-based strategies may have limited utility in a cultural context that so highly values appearance. The current study evaluated a version of an Internet-based self-compassion training, which had previously shown promising results, but was limited by high attrition. The intervention period was reduced from three weeks to one week in the present study to improve retention. Eighty undergraduate women endorsing body image concerns were randomized to either self-compassion meditation training or a waitlist control group. Results suggest that brief exposure to the basic tenets of self-compassion holds promise for improving aspects of self-compassion and BID. Attrition was minimal, but compliance with meditation practice instructions during the week was low. Efforts are needed to improve engagement, but this approach has the potential to be an acceptable and cost effective method to reduce BID.