The Relation of Intra-Psychic and Relational Aspects of the Self to Compulsive Sexual Behavior.

Background and Aims: Research has indicated that addictions include not only the consumption of psychoactive substances but also behavioral addictions such as compulsive sexual behavior (CSB). In the current study we examine differences in the "addictive personality" of people with CSB as well as drug addicts. Methods: The sample sized included 160 Israeli men, of whom 67 were members of Sexaholics Anonymous (SA) support groups, 48 were members of Narcotics Anonymous (NA) support groups, and 45 were from the general community. Self-report measures of intra-psychic (narcissism, self-compassion, self-efficacy) and relational-related (sense of entitlement, pathological concern) measures were administrated. Results: Results indicate that SA groups had higher narcissism, lacked self-compassion and efficacy, and had greater pathological senses of entitlement and concern than drug addicts and control individuals. Conclusion: A theoretical conceptualization of these results is presented as a basis for future research directions and clinical intervention.

Self-compassion as a buffer against concrete but not abstract threat.

Terror management theory posits that validation of self-esteem is a major defense mechanism in keeping mortal concerns at bay. Yet, self-esteem often leads to devaluation of others. Self-compassion (SC) is an alternative, more inclusive construct than self-esteem. We explored among 125 university students whether SC serves as a defense mechanism from abstract and concrete threats responses, utilizing a dot-probe task and mortality salience priming. Although SC was not associated with avoidance of abstract threats, it was associated with avoidance of concrete threats. These findings underscore the potential role of SC in coping with trauma and in shielding from developing post-traumatic symptoms.

Mortality salience reduces tactile attention among people with low body esteem.

Death awareness leads to aversion from bodily processes such as breastfeeding and sex, especially among low body esteem individuals. Using a modality bias task, we examined whether primes of death reduced attention to bodily sensations. We subliminally primed 72 undergraduates with either the word death or failed and assessed their attention to tactile and visual stimuli as a function of their body esteem. Results indicated that death primes significantly reduced attention to tactile stimuli relative to visual stimuli in low body esteem individuals. Dissociation from the body, therefore, may be an unconscious terror management strategy utilized by people with low body esteem.

The impact of death priming on climate change denial: a preliminary investigation.

Background: Climate change denial (CCD) has been found to be more pronounced among individuals with a conservative political orientation. Terror Management Theory posits that an individual's worldview serves as a primary defense mechanism in coping with existential threats, such as the reality of climate change. Drawing on these premises, we conducted preliminary research investigating the impact of death priming on CCD from the Terror management theory perspective. Methods and results: We administered a death priming task and measured CCD in its immediate wake or following a delay task. We confirmed among 219 Amazon's MTurk participants that immediately following death priming, CCD was reduced among all participants. In the delayed death priming condition, we acquired preliminary evidence that CCD was heightened among Republican participants. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the relevance of death priming to CCD tendencies and potentially spawn future research regarding CCD as a particular form of coping with existential threats.

The Role of Self-compassion, Concern for Others, and Basic Psychological Needs in the Reduction of Caregiving Burnout.

Objectives: Compassion is the beneficial response of an individual to the sufferings and difficulties of others. Self-compassion refers to feelings of concern an individual feel towards oneself. Both may serve as potential buffers in a hospital setting where caregivers attending to patients in critical condition experience emotional distress, which may lead to burnout. However, the unique contribution of compassion, both to self and others, to the decrease of burnout is unclear. Methods: In the present study, we recruited 109 professional caregivers working in a hospital's intensive care and rehabilitative units. We explored a theoretically driven mediation model in which the relationship between compassion for self and others and burnout is mediated by different basic psychological needs, detailed in the self-determination theory. Results: Results indicated that self-compassion and concern for others were associated with reduced levels of burnout. Each of these buffers against burnout was mediated by a unique psychological need, thereby supporting a three-layered model of (a) compassion and self-compassion, (b) basic psychological needs, and (c) burnout. Conclusions: Our study highlights compassion and self-compassion as potential resilience factors against the challenge of burnout in healthcare. It points to promising avenues for preemptive clinical interventions.

The Relationship Between Self-Compassion, Concern for Others, and Parental Burnout in Child's Chronic Care Management.

OBJECTIVES: Parental burnout is a construct that reflects the exhaustion and emotional distancing of parents from their children due to the growing demands of caring for them. Research has pointed to a heightened risk for parental burnout among parents of children with special needs. Additional research has indicated that parents' personality traits and relational dynamics serve as resiliency factors regarding parental burnout. METHODS: In the present study, 91 primary parental caregivers of children receiving ongoing treatment at a pediatric ambulatory care unit were recruited. A theoretical model proposing the specific ways in which self-compassion and concern for others complement each other in predicting parental burnout was examined. In this model, the relationships between self-compassion, concern for others, and burnout respectively are mediated by different basic psychological needs, detailed in self-determination theory. Participants completed various questionnaires measuring these constructs. Regression and mediation analyses were used to examine our hypotheses. RESULTS: Results indicated that self-compassion and concern for others predicted levels of parental burnout. The covariance between concern for others and burnout was mediated by the psychological need of relatedness. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the extension of a three-layered conceptual model of (a) self-compassion and concern for others, (b) psychological needs, and (c) burnout. The present study highlights self-compassion and concern for others as potential resilience factors regarding the risk of burnout in parental caregiving. These findings point to promising avenues for burnout prevention and preemptive facilitation of parental caregiving. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-021-01752-z.