Investigating the role of self-compassion and shame in predicting posttraumatic growth and body image concern in breast cancer patients

Despite the negative consequences of breast cancer, such as body image concern, many women experience positive changes after diagnosis. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the effective components in these consequences; therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the role of self-compassion and shame in predicting post-traumatic growth (PTG) and body image concern in breast cancer patients.

The research method is a descriptive correlation type. The statistical population of this research was all women with breast cancer referred to Kosar Hospital in Karaj city in 2022. For this purpose, 150 of these people were selected by convenience sampling method, taking into account the inclusion and exclusion criteria and answered the Self-Compassion Scale, Body Image Concern Inventory, Objectified Body Consciousness Scale, and Post Traumatic Growth Inventory. After collecting the questionnaires, the collected data were analyzed using (SPSS- 24), Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis simultaneously.

The results showed that there is a positive and significant correlation between self-compassion and post-traumatic growth (p<0.01). There is a negative and significant correlation between self-compassion and body image concern (p<0.01). There is a negative and significant correlation between shame and post-traumatic growth (p<0.01). There is a positive and significant correlation between shame and body image concern (p<0.01). The results of multiple regression analysis also revealed that 71% of the variance of post-traumatic growth and 61.4% of the variance of body image concern is explained by self-compassion and shame.

The results of this study showed that focusing on self-compassion after traumatic experiences can be effective in predicting post-traumatic growth and reducing body image concerns. Also, the activation of body shame has a negative effect on PTG and body image. Interventions based on SC and reducing body shame in future research can probably improve body image concerns and help increase PTG.