Self-Compassion Versus Detached Reappraisal for Emotion Regulation in Individuals Exposed to Interpersonal Trauma

Although emotion regulation is theorized to be a mechanism through which selfcompassion alleviates symptoms among individuals exposed to trauma, no empirical study has investigated whether self-compassion training does in fact alter emotion regulation processes in these individuals. This study examined the effectiveness of self-compassion, detached reappraisal, and an active control condition on emotion regulation mechanisms involved in the processing of social rejection, an impactful stressor among individuals who have experienced interpersonal trauma. Participants who reported at leastmoderate rejection sensitivity (75% of whom reported a history of interpersonal trauma) were recruited online to participate in the study. All participants were asked to recall and write about an experience of rejection and then were randomized to briefly engage in either self-compassion, detached reappraisal, or a neutral control condition. Measures of objective positive and negative attention bias, self-reported cognitive appraisals, and self-reported positive and negative affect were collected pre- and postintervention, and groups were compared via repeated measures analysis of covariance. Participants assigned to practice self-compassion demonstrated significant increases in controllability appraisals, while those assigned to practice detached reappraisal unexpectedly showed reductions in positive affect and positive attention bias. Post hoc analyses revealed that among those exposed to trauma, selfcompassion led to significantly greater increases in controllability appraisals. Selfcompassion may be most helpful at increasing a sense of control during difficult situations, including for people exposed to interpersonal trauma.