(PS1-50) Impact of Self-Compassion on Distress and Interpersonal Outcomes for a Social Stressor among Socially Anxious Individuals

Abstract Text: Individuals with social anxiety often struggle making and maintaining social connections. Self-compassion has been associated with reduced anticipatory distress and reduced expected avoidance behaviors for future social situations among socially anxious individuals. However, the possible interpersonal benefits of self-compassion for social stressors among those with social anxiety have not yet been explored. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a self-compassion writing exercise prior to interacting with a stranger during a socially stressful task. It was hypothesized that the self-compassion induction would reduce distress, increase social self-esteem, improve perceived competence during the interaction (appearing friendly, talkative, and engaged), lessen feelings of judgment from the stranger, and improve actual judgments from the stranger, compared to a control condition. Participants (N = 98, university students high in social anxiety) were randomly assigned to complete a 10-minute self-compassion writing exercise (aimed at fostering self-kindness, mindfulness, and common humanity) or a control writing exercise. Next, they completed the social stressor which involved interacting with a stranger (confederate) before and after delivering a presentation. Following the social stressor, participants reported their levels of distress, related social anxiety behaviors, social self-esteem, and perceived competence during the interaction. Confederates rated participants on how engaged, friendly, and anxious they appeared during the interaction. Participants in the self-compassion condition reported significantly less distress prior to interacting with the confederate, compared to controls, F(1,91) = 6.231, p = .014, with a medium effect size (np2 = .064). Other related measures of social anxiety (e.g., safety behavior use), social self-esteem, feelings of competence in the conversation, and confederate ratings, however, did not differ across conditions. The present study builds on the growing evidence of the benefit of inducing self-compassion on distress prior to social stressors. Further, the present study offers direction for future research on the impact of self-compassion on interpersonal processes in the context of social stressors.