The Effectiveness of the Mindful Self-Compassion Protocol Based on the Lived Experience of Adolescents with Self-Injurious Behaviors on Body Image and Spiritual Health
Keywords:
Self-compassion, Mindfulness, Body image, Spiritual health, Adolescents, Self-injuryAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a mindful self-compassion protocol based on lived experience on improving body image and spiritual health in adolescents with self-injurious behaviors.
Methodology: This randomized controlled trial used a pretest-posttest design with a five-month follow-up. The statistical population included adolescents aged 13 to 17 with a history of self-injury, referred to counseling centers in Tehran. Thirty participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (15 in each). The experimental group received a 10-session (90 minutes each) intervention based on a mindful self-compassion protocol. Research tools included the Multidimensional Body–Self Relations Questionnaire and the Spiritual Well-being Scale by Paloutzian and Ellison. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc test in SPSS-27.
Findings: The results indicated significant main effects of group, time, and the interaction of group × time for both body image and spiritual health variables (p < 0.001). Bonferroni post-hoc comparisons showed significant differences between pretest and posttest, and between pretest and follow-up in the experimental group for both variables (p < 0.001), while no significant changes occurred in the control group.
Conclusion: The mindful self-compassion protocol based on lived experience can significantly improve body image and spiritual health in adolescents with self-harming behaviors, and its effects are maintained over a five-month follow-up period.
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