Not hating what you see: Self-compassion may protect against negative mental health variables connected to self-objectification in college women

• Compared objectification theory constructs among women high and low in self-compassion.
• Women high in self-compassion have lower levels of body surveillance and body shame.
• Women high in self-compassion have less depression and negative eating attitudes.
• Used path models to compare self-objectification and clinical symptoms between groups.
• Self-compassion may protect against clinical symptoms linked to self-objectification.

Self-objectification is related to maladaptive mental health variables, but little is known about what could ameliorate these associations. Self-compassion, a construct associated with mindfulness, involves taking a non-judgmental attitude toward the self. In this study, 306 college-aged women were recruited; those who were highest (n = 106) and lowest (n = 104) in self-compassion were retained for analyses. Levels of body surveillance, body shame, depression, and negative eating attitudes were lower in the high self-compassion group. Furthermore, the fit of a path model wherein body surveillance related to body shame, which, in turn, related to negative eating attitudes and depressive symptomatology was compared for each group, controlling for body mass index. The model fit significantly differently such that the connections between self-objectification and negative body and eating attitudes were weaker in the high self-compassion group. Treatment implications of self-compassion as a potential means to interrupt the self-objectification process are discussed.