Does the Fear of Self-Compassion Lead to a More Negative Rejection Response?

This study investigated whether the low fear of self-compassion buffers individuals against the negative effects of rejection. Based on previous research, self-compassion has been shown to benefit an individual's overall well-being as well as psychological health when experiencing a negative event such as rejection. We hypothesized an interaction between the fear of self-compassion and rejection. We also hypothesized that individuals with high fear of self-compassion would feel less belonging, more burden and more negative affect. Participants (N=134) were randomly assigned to two conditions: rejection and acceptance. The fear of self-compassion did not predict rejection reactions; however, participants higher in fear of self-compassion reported more feelings of burden and negative affect They did not report less feeling of belonging. Our findings show that the fear of self-compassion can result in more feelings of burden and negative affect when experiencing rejection