Self‐compassion, social functioning and chronic pain

Background: Chronic pain can have significant negative consequences for many
areas of life, including social functioning and participation. Self‐compassion is
becoming established as a factor which can promote psychological wellbeing,
resilience and coping in the face of difficulties such as those presented by chronic
pain. The available evidence suggests that higher levels of self‐compassion are
associated with increased acceptance of pain, lower levels of negative affect, pain
catastrophising and pain disability. Self‐compassion may, therefore, play a role in
attenuating the impact of pain‐relevant events. However, there have been no
studies to date which examine the role of self‐compassion on social functioning
and participation in a chronic pain population. Method: An experimental vignette
design was used to assess the influence of self‐compassion on affective, cognitive
and behavioural responses to unpleasant self‐relevant events, which were
manipulated across social context and pain relevance, in a chronic pain population
(n=62). Results: Higher levels of self‐compassion were associated with lower
intensities of negative affect (sadness, anxiety, anger and embarrassment), and a
lower reported likelihood of avoidance, catastrophising and rumination in
response to unpleasant pain‐ and self‐ relevant events. Individuals with higher
levels of self‐compassion also reported higher levels of satisfaction with their
social participation in general. Conclusions: Self‐compassion may be an important
factor in developing resilience and promoting social engagement in a chronic pain
population. Further research is indicated to better establish the process by which
self‐compassion may maintain positive social functioning, whether selfcompassion
can be increased in chronic pain patients, and if so whether these
results can be replicated in real life circumstances.