Sexual minorities must deal daily with their stigmatized identities. Specifically, depression and anxiety as well as psychological distress and self-stigma are common among people with stigmatized identities. Self-compassion has been linked to enhanced psychological well-being and less negative feelings toward the self. The aim of this study was to investigate selfcompassion as a potential buffer of the effects of sexual minority related rejection experiences on self-perceptions of stigma and psychological symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to a self-compassion induction group versus 1 of 3 control groups (self-esteem only induction; expressive writing condition; true control) to examine whether self-compassion can be induced to reduce self-stigma, negative mood, and fear of negative evaluation. Results did not support hypotheses; analyses revealed nonsignificant effects for the self-compassion induction. However, results revealed a significant main effect for trait self-compassion predicting outcomes of decreased self-stigma, fear of negative evaluation, and negative mood, and increased positive mood.
","abstract_html":"<p>Sexual minorities must deal daily with their stigmatized identities. Specifically, depression and anxiety as well as psychological distress and self-stigma are common among people with stigmatized identities. Self-compassion has been linked to enhanced psychological well-being and less negative feelings toward the self. The aim of this study was to investigate selfcompassion as a potential buffer of the effects of sexual minority related rejection experiences on self-perceptions of stigma and psychological symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to a self-compassion induction group versus 1 of 3 control groups (self-esteem only induction; expressive writing condition; true control) to examine whether self-compassion can be induced to reduce self-stigma, negative mood, and fear of negative evaluation. Results did not support hypotheses; analyses revealed nonsignificant effects for the self-compassion induction. However, results revealed a significant main effect for trait self-compassion predicting outcomes of decreased self-stigma, fear of negative evaluation, and negative mood, and increased positive mood.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Chandler, Sheri"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA (Master of Arts)","degree_level":"Thesis - unrestricted","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:06Z","subjects":["Stigma","Sexual Stigma","Self-Compassion","Fear of Negative Evaluation","Social Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1203","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Chandler, Sheri"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-07-12T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2013-08-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - unrestricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA (Master of Arts)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Stigma","Sexual Stigma","Self-Compassion","Fear of Negative Evaluation","Social Psychology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/2383/viewcontent/ChandlerS072913f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1203"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Sexual minorities must deal daily with their stigmatized identities. Specifically, depression and anxiety as well as psychological distress and self-stigma are common among people with stigmatized identities. Self-compassion has been linked to enhanced psychological well-being and less negative feelings toward the self. The aim of this study was to investigate selfcompassion as a potential buffer of the effects of sexual minority related rejection experiences on self-perceptions of stigma and psychological symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to a self-compassion induction group versus 1 of 3 control groups (self-esteem only induction; expressive writing condition; true control) to examine whether self-compassion can be induced to reduce self-stigma, negative mood, and fear of negative evaluation. Results did not support hypotheses; analyses revealed nonsignificant effects for the self-compassion induction. However, results revealed a significant main effect for trait self-compassion predicting outcomes of decreased self-stigma, fear of negative evaluation, and negative mood, and increased positive mood.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Can Self-Compassion Be Induced to Reduce Sexual Minority Stigma and Protect Psychological Functioning?"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Chandler, Sheri"],"dc:date.available":["2013-07-12T07:00:00Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2013-08-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Sexual minorities must deal daily with their stigmatized identities. Specifically, depression and anxiety as well as psychological distress and self-stigma are common among people with stigmatized identities. Self-compassion has been linked to enhanced psychological well-being and less negative feelings toward the self. The aim of this study was to investigate selfcompassion as a potential buffer of the effects of sexual minority related rejection experiences on self-perceptions of stigma and psychological symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to a self-compassion induction group versus 1 of 3 control groups (self-esteem only induction; expressive writing condition; true control) to examine whether self-compassion can be induced to reduce self-stigma, negative mood, and fear of negative evaluation. Results did not support hypotheses; analyses revealed nonsignificant effects for the self-compassion induction. However, results revealed a significant main effect for trait self-compassion predicting outcomes of decreased self-stigma, fear of negative evaluation, and negative mood, and increased positive mood.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/2383/viewcontent/ChandlerS072913f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1203"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["Stigma","Sexual Stigma","Self-Compassion","Fear of Negative Evaluation","Social Psychology"],"dc:title":["Can Self-Compassion Be Induced to Reduce Sexual Minority Stigma and Protect Psychological Functioning?"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - unrestricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MA (Master of Arts)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:06Z"}