Prediction of love trauma syndrome based on self compassion among female students having experienced romantic breakups

Aim: Purpose of the present study was the prediction of love trauma syndrome based on components of self compassion including: self kindness, self judgment, shared humanity, isolation, mindfulness and over identification in female university students having experienced romantic break ups in the City of Ahvaz.
Research method was correlational. Participants were 200 female students who reported to have experienced a romantic break up during the previous year. Participants were selected non randomly. Selection was based on availability using the snow ball effect principle. The instruments for data gathering included the Ross Love Trauma Inventory (1999) and the Neff Self Compassion Inventory (2003a).
Results showed that linear combination of the variables can predict love trauma syndrome. With the usage of stepwise discriminant analysis the following variables were identified in order of significance 1. mindfulness, 2. over identification and 3. shared humanity. Investigation of the variables separately showed that all the variables including self kindness, self judgment, shared humanity, isolation, mindfulness and over identification were significant predictors for love trauma syndrome.
self compassion as a personal trait has an important role in the individual's reaction to romantic break up. Self compassion can be considered as an important factor when designing counseling with people who are experiencing romantic break up.