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Self-compassion has demonstrated many psychological benefits (Neff, 2009). In an effort to explore self-compassion as a potential resource for young women athletes, we explored relations among self-compassion, proneness to self-conscious emotions (i.e., shame, guilt-free shame, guilt, shame-free guilt, authentic pride, and hubristic pride), and potentially unhealthy self-evaluative thoughts and behaviors (i.e., social physique anxiety, obligatory exercise, objectified body consciousness, fear of failure, and fear of negative evaluation). Young women athletes (N = 151; Mage = 15.1 years) participated in this study. Self-compassion was negatively related to shame proneness, guilt-free shame proneness, social physique anxiety, objectified body consciousness, fear of failure, and fear of negative evaluation. In support of theoretical propositions, self-compassion explained variance beyond self-esteem on shame proneness, guilt-free shame proneness, shame-free guilt proneness, objectified body consciousness, fear of failure, and fear of negative evaluation. Results suggest that, in addition to self-esteem promotion, self-compassion development may be beneficial in cultivating positive sport experiences for young women.

The purpose of this study was to test a model where body-related self-conscious emotions of shame, guilt, and pride were associated with physical activity regulations and behavior. Adult women (N = 389; M age = 29.82, SD = 15.20 years) completed a questionnaire assessing body-related pride, shame, and guilt, motivational regulations, and leisure-time physical activity. The hypothesized measurement and structural models were deemed adequate, as was a revised model examining shame-free guilt and guilt-free shame. In the revised structural model, body-related pride was positively significantly related to identified and intrinsic regulations. Body-related shame-free guilt was significantly associated with external, introjected, and identified regulations. Body-related guilt-free shame was significantly positively related to external and introjected regulation, and negatively associated with intrinsic regulation. Identified and intrinsic regulations were significantly positively related to physical activity (R2 = .62). These findings highlight the importance of targeting and understanding the realm of body-related self-conscious emotions and the associated links to regulations and physical activity behavior.

Concerns related to the body are associated with health-compromising behaviors, and although research has indicated that young Aboriginal women are dissatisfied with their bodies, their voices have typically been absent from the literature. The purpose of this case study was to provide insight into the body-related emotional experiences of young, Canadian, urban Aboriginal women. Four young women participated; 3 identified themselves as Aboriginal (one 14-year-old, two 18-year-olds) and 1 as non-Aboriginal (18 years old). Multiple methods (focus group, one-on-one interviews, and artwork) provided the authors the opportunity to listen to the young women's stories. Five themes emerged: (a) conflicting cultures, (b) need to belong, (c) the beauty of difference, (d) journey to acceptance of the body, and (e) the body affects everything. This research highlights the complexity of young Aboriginal women's body-related emotional experiences and indicates that their experiences might not be as negative as previous research has led us to believe.

Evidence is emerging for the potential usefulness of self-compassion (Neff in Self Identity 2:223-250, ) in young women athletes' sport experiences (Mosewich et al. in J Sport Exerc Psychol 33:103-123, , J Sport Exerc Psychol 35:514-524, ). However, it is unclear whether extending compassion towards the self contributes to or thwarts athletes' psychological well-being (i.e., eudaimonic well-being) in sport. The purpose of this study was to examine self-compassion during emotionally difficult sport situations in relation to eudaimonic well-being in sport. Women athletes ( N = 137; M = 19 years) completed an online survey including measures of self-compassion, eudaimonic well-being, and reactions to hypothetical, emotionally difficult, sport scenarios. Pearson bivariate correlations were used to examine relationships among study variables, and Preacher and Hayes' (Behav Res Methods 40:879-891, ) SPSS macro was used to explore models of indirect effects. The relationship between self-compassion and eudaimonic well-being in the sport domain was generally supported, with significant correlations between self-compassion and autonomy, meaning and vitality in sport, and body appreciation ( rs = .18-.47, p < .05). Significant indirect effects suggest that (1) self-compassionate athletes have greater eudaimonic well-being in sport primarily through higher positivity and perseverance, as well as lower passivity in reaction to emotionally difficult sport situations, and (2) self-critical reactions suppress the relationships between self-compassion and eudaimonia in sport. The pattern of findings suggests that compassionately relating to the self might be advantageous for aspects of young women athletes' psychological well-being in sport. Specifically, having a kind and understanding self-attitude might nurture constructive reactions to emotionally difficult sport situations. Findings can inform future research aimed at better understanding how self-compassion is linked with optimal psychological functioning in sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To examine self-compassion as a way to promote healthy responses in women athletes when faced with emotionally difficult sport-specific situations. Design Phase I, cross-sectional; Phase II, experimental. Methods In Phase I, participants ( N = 101; M age = 20.0, SD = 2.8 years) completed measures of self-compassion, self-esteem, and narcissism, as well as reactions, thoughts, and emotions in response to hypothetical (i.e., responsible for a team loss) and recalled scenarios. Participants returning for Phase II were randomly assigned to a brief self-compassion induction ( n = 21), self-esteem induction ( n = 20), or writing control ( n = 18) group. Following the induction, they responded to the same hypothetical scenario as in Phase I. Phase I results After partialling out self-esteem and narcissism, self-compassion was related ( p < .01) to negative affect ( r = −.40), catastrophizing thoughts ( r = −.30), personalizing thoughts ( r = −.32), and behavioral equanimity ( r = .28) for the hypothetical scenario. A similar pattern was found for the recalled scenario. Phase II results A MANOVA with Phase I self-compassion, self-esteem, and narcissism as covariates resulted in a non-significant group by time interaction, Wilks' Lambda = .75, F (12,96) = 1.27, p = .25. Follow-up hierarchical regression analysis showed Phase I levels of self-compassion as the only significant predictor for negative affect, personalizing thoughts, and behavioral equanimity. Conclusions Women athletes with higher self-compassion levels generally responded in healthier ways to emotionally difficult hypothetical and recalled situations in sport than their less self-compassionate counterparts. However, future research needs continued focus on evaluating self-compassion inductions and interventions for use in sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of peer group composition and influence variables on social physique anxiety was examined. Peer network data were gathered on 375 adolescents (181 male, 194 female). Females reported experiencing higher social physique anxiety, more pressure and encouragement to alter their physique from peers, greater body-related discussion, and greater identification with the peer group than did males. Regression analyses revealed 2 peer influence variables—peer pressure and relative attractiveness of peers—to be significant predictors of social physique anxiety. A third variable—extent to which the individual identified with peer network—was a significant predictor for females. Results are discussed in reference to previous research, and future research directions are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To examine the role of causal attributions, goal importance, and goal discrepancy as predictors of discrete emotions in youth sport settings. More specifically, causal attributions and goal characteristics were examined in an actual performance test and a natural competitive setting. Both direct effects and moderator models were tested.Method. Two studies were conducted. In the first study, 130 adolescent soccer players completed the Leger fitness test, as well as measures of goal importance and objective goal discrepancy, and the CDSII to assess causal dimensions PANAS-X to assess emotions. In the second study, 174 adolescent swimmers and track and field athletes participated in sport-specific competitions. Participants completed the same battery of questionnaires as in the first study with the exception that a measure of subjective goal discrepancy replaced objective goal discrepancy.Results. Results showed general consistency across studies. Both causal dimensions and goal characteristics (importance and discrepancy) showed direct effects in the prediction of emotion. However, there was no support for theoretical links between causal dimensions and specific emotions. Little support was found for a moderator model examining the interactions among and between goal characteristics and causal dimensions. In addition, subjective performance discrepancy was a much stronger predictor of emotion in the second study compared with objective performance discrepancy in the first study.Conclusions. Although causal attributions and goal characteristics are important predictors of emotion, there was little support for the theoretical model proposing an interaction among these variables in the experience of emotion for youth sport participants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives The purpose of this study was to explore the emotion narratives in older women's ageing body and physical activity-related stories. Method The study was informed by narrative inquiry. We conducted two semi-structured interviews with 21 women aged 65 to 94 and asked them about their physical activity engagement, and body perceptions, experiences, and management strategies. Using thematic narrative analysis, we analysed the content of participants’ stories pertaining to physical activity, the core patterns within them, and considered the cultural context in which they were embedded. Results Emotion narratives of anxiety/fear, shame, guilt, pride, and pleasure permeated the women's stories. Participants feared physical and cognitive decline, and engaged in physical activity to stave off the ageing process. Body-related shame and guilt transected their stories; they were frustrated by their inabilities to engage in certain activities and with their move away from the healthy and physically fit cultural ideal. To negotiate this body-related anxiety/fear, shame, and guilt, the women drew attention to their accomplishments in the physical domain with pride, reinforcing their efforts to take personal responsibility for their health. Participants were also physically active for pleasure, gaining satisfaction from the social connections and mindfulness derived from being active, and through their participation in challenging yet rewarding activities. Conclusions The findings are novel as they highlight the importance of cultural age and body norms coupled with complex emotional experiences in shaping later life physical activity experiences, and draw attention to the usefulness of stories to explore emotions in the physical domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals who are more physically active, compared to those who are less physically active, typically report more favourable perceptions of their physical appearance and functioning (i.e., physical self-concept). However, there is limited empirical evidence examining how psychological processes associated with physical activity can affect the strength of this relationship. In the current study, perceptions of controllability (i.e., controllable attributions) was tested as a moderator of the relationship between physical activity and physical self-concept. A sample of 189 adults (M age = 23.8 years; n male = 76, n female = 112, n unspecified = 1) read hypothetical scenarios that elicited emotions specific to achievement or failure. Participants completed measures assessing their attributions for each scenario, together with self-report physical activity and physical self-concept. In the final models, the relationship between physical activity and physical self-concept was stronger among those participants who reported higher perceptions of controllability. The effectiveness of physical activity interventions may be improved through attributional retraining to adaptive (controllable) attributions. • Self-conscious emotions, pride and shame arise from fitness-based scenarios. • Controllability moderates physical activity and physical self-concept relationship. • Attribution retraining might improve outcomes of physical activity interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite well-documented benefits of sport participation for adolescents, girls are less likely to initiate participation and more likely to disengage from sport, compared to boys. Due to the highly evaluative and social nature of the sport context, girls' emotional experiences around their body's abilities, function, and fitness are important – yet understudied – predictors of sport participation. The objectives of this longitudinal study were to describe changes in fitness-related and appearance-related self-conscious emotions (i.e., guilt, shame, authentic pride, hubristic pride) and sport experiences (i.e., sport commitment, enjoyment, anxiety) over time, and examine whether between- and within-person differences in these emotions predict sport experiences during adolescence. A sample of 518 girls involved in organized sport completed questionnaires once a year over a three-year period. Results from multilevel models reveal detrimental changes in emotions, sport commitment and enjoyment over time. Further, fitness-related emotions remain significant predictors of sport experiences above and beyond appearance-related emotions thus highlighting the importance of fitness-related emotions in predicting sport experiences. Examining both between and within-person effects is novel in elucidating the predictive capacity of fitness-related emotions as they explain differences between girls – as well as variations in girls' sport experiences over time. • Fitness-related shame and guilt increased; pride, sport commitment and enjoyment decreased over 3-years. • Girls with higher levels of fitness-related shame and guilt, and lower levels of pride reported worsened sport experiences. • Girls reported poor sport experiences at times when all emotions were worse than their own average. • Fitness-related self-conscious emotions contribute to sport experiences above and beyond appearance emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]