Self-Compassion in Relation to Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy and Demographical Aspects

Abstract

This study investigated relationships between self-compassion, self-efficacy, and self-esteem, as well as age and sex differences and other sociodemographic variables in relation to self-compassion. Four-hundred and thirty-two Brazilian adults (50% women) from nearly all country states participated in the study filling out a sociodemographic survey and three scales: self-compassion, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. Comparisons of means between self-compassion and pairs of groups designed by sociodemographic data showed higher self-compassion in men, people aged from 31 to 66 years-old, not under psychiatric medication, without a job, and with children. Results also showed that self-compassion is highly correlated with self-esteem and self-efficacy. We highlight that results are sample dependent and further studies on self-compassion need to be conducted in Brazil.

Full text

Paidéia
may-aug. 2016, Vol. 26, No. 64, 181-188. doi:10.1590/1982-43272664201604
Available in www.scielo.br/paideia 181
Self-Compassion in Relation to Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy and Demographical
Aspects1
Article
Luciana Karine de Souza2
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul,
Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil
Claudio Simon Hutz
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul,
Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil
Abstract: This study investigated relationships between self-compassion, self-efficacy, and self-esteem, as well as age and sex
differences and other sociodemographic variables in relation to self-compassion. Four-hundred and thirty-two Brazilian adults
(50% women) from nearly all country states participated in the study filling out a sociodemographic survey and three scales:
self-compassion, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. Comparisons of means between self-compassion and pairs of groups designed
by sociodemographic data showed higher self-compassion in men, people aged from 31 to 66 years-old, not under psychiatric
medication, without a job, and with children. Results also showed that self-compassion is highly correlated with self-esteem and
self-efficacy. We highlight that results are sample dependent and further studies on self-compassion need to be conducted in Brazil.
Keywords: self-compassion, self-esteem, self-efficacy
Autocompaixão e Suas Relações com Autoestima, Autoeficácia e Aspectos
Sociodemográficos
Resumo: O presente estudo teve por objetivo investigar as relações entre autocompaixão, autoestima e autoeficácia e diferenças de sexo,
idade e de outras variáveis sociodemográficas na autocompaixão. Participaram 432 adultos (50% mulheres), de 24 estados brasileiros,
preenchendo dados sociodemográficos e um conjunto de três escalas: autocompaixão, autoestima e autoeficácia. Comparações de
médias da autocompaixão por grupos compostos a partir dos dados sociodemográficos permitiram observar maior autocompaixão
em: homens, com idade entre 31 e 66 anos, sem uso de medicação psiquiátrica, sem atividade remunerada e com filhos. Os resultados
também mostraram que autocompaixão apresenta correlações elevadas com autoeficácia e autoestima. Salienta-se que os resultados
são atinentes a esta amostra e que mais estudos precisam ser conduzidos no Brasil sobre autocompaixão.
Palavras-chave: autocompaixão, autoestima, autoeficácia
Autocompasión y Sus Relaciones con Autoestima, Autoeficacia y Aspectos
Sociodemográficos
Resumen: El presente trabajo investigó las relaciones entre autocompasión, autoestima y autoeficacia y las diferencias entre sexo,
edad y otras variables sociodemográficas en la autocompasión. Participaron 432 adultos (50% mujeres) de 24 Estados brasileños,
llenando datos sociodemográficos y un conjunto de tres escalas: autocompasión, autoestima y autoeficacia. Comparaciones de
promedios de la autocompasión en grupos compuestos a partir de los datos sociodemográficos, permitieron observar mayor
autocompasión en: hombres con edad entre 31 y 66 años, sin uso de medicamento psiquiátrico, sin actividad remunerada y con
hijos. Los resultados también mostraron que autocompasión presenta correlaciones elevadas con autoeficacia y autoestima. Se
resalta que los resultados son relacionados con esta muestra y que más estudios necesitan ser conducidos en Brasil, con respecto a
la autocompasión.
Palabras clave: autocompasión, autoestima, autoeficacia
1 Study derived from the post-doctoral research project “Adaptation and
Validation of the Self-Compassion Scale”, conducted by the first author,
under the supervision of the second author. Acknowledgement: We would
like to thank K. Neff, L. Taborda, J. Natividade, J. Rique, A. Antoniazzi, J.
Sarriera, and the 2012 team of Laboratory of Measurement at Universidade
Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Institutional support: Psychology
Department at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and Programa de Pós-
Graduação em Psicologia at UFRGS.
Support: National Council for Scientific and Technological Development -
CNPq (Grant # 159687/2011-0).
2 Correspondence address:
Luciana Karine de Souza. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul,
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia. Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2600.
CEP 90035-003. Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil. E-mail: lukarides@gmail.com
Self-compassion is compassion placed on the person
himself. It is not self-pity, self-commiseration or self-
indulgence. Medeiros and Sougey (2010) have used the
expression “self-compassionate thoughts” (p. 29) to describe
a certain cognitive distortion typical of depressed patients.
Nevertheless, an expression such as “self-pity thoughts”
(pensamentos de autopiedade) would better describe this
attitude. Self-compassion does not mean that.
Neff (2003a), inspired by a Buddhist concept of self-
compassion (SC), pioneered in both providing an operational
definition and a measure for SC. While compassion entails

Paidéia, 26(64), 181-188
182
openness and allowing oneself to be in touch with someone
else’s suffering in such a way that one wants that suffering
to be relieved, SC is a self-understanding attitude which
requires to allow oneself to be in touch with one’s own
suffering, manifest openness towards it while seeking not to
turn away or to be disconnected from it. This openness should
lead to the wish to assuage the suffering, to heal oneself with
kindness, without judgments, through the understanding of
one’s sorrows, inadequacies and failures. In this way these
experiences will, through SC, be recognized as part of a
broad human experience. Furthermore, feelings of SC, when
genuine and complete, awaken one’s desire for one’s health
and well-being (Neff, 2003a, 2003b).
SC has six elements: self-kindness, self-judgment,
isolation, common humanity, over-identification, and
mindfulness. Self-kindness means applying kindness and
good-will towards oneself, avoiding harsh judgments and
self-criticism. Common humanity implies one understands
one’s own experiences as part of a wider human experience,
refraining from grasping them as separate, isolating them.
Mindfulness, on the other hand, is to maintain a balanced
awareness of painful feelings and thoughts, instead of over-
identifying with or denying them (Neff, 2003a).
These elements work together in the manifestation
of SC. At the outset, the first step for SC to develop is a
balanced mental state originated in mindfulness, which
allows for a more universal understanding of suffering, and
for the emergence of self-kindness; moreover, this mental
state reduces self-criticism and increases self-understanding.
The balanced point-of-view that comes through mindfulness
hinders self-centeredness, which leads to the idea of isolation
within the experience of sufferings, errors and failures. It
fosters feelings of connection through awareness of common
humanity in the context of a universal understanding of
negative experiences. Also both self-kindness and awareness
of common humanity help reducing harsh self-criticism
and severe judgment directed towards oneself, allowing for
the emergence of self-acceptance, which then reduces the
emotional load concomitant with the experience of suffering,
and thus facilitating the maintenance of a well-balanced
consciousness between thoughts and feelings (Neff, 2003a).
Self-pity, on the other hand, distances one from others,
engulfing one in one’s own problems. In doing that, the
subject disregards that others may face similar or even more
severe difficulties, allowing one to be overcome by negative
feelings. Thus the experience of suffering is exaggerated,
leading to an over-identification with it. In contrast to that,
SC allows for the recognition of relatedness between humans
and a sense of shared experiences (both good and bad). In this
way over-identification with suffering is avoided, reducing
egocentrism and promoting a sense of interconnectedness
with others (Neff, 2003a, 2003b).
Neff (2003b) has created and validated the Self-
Compassion Scale (SCS). The author has found significant
negative correlations with self-criticism, and positive ones
with social connection; with good performance in a test-
retest within a three week interval, showing correlations
between .80 and .93; and a moderate correlation (r = .59)
with Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Comparisons with
anger, anxiety and life satisfaction have confirmed SCS ability
to predict aspects of psychological health. Finally, Neff (2003b)
has, in the same research, investigated 43 practicing Buddhists
that, compared to college students, showed significantly more
SC. Detailed analysis indicated that Buddhist practice wielded
a greater effect on SC than on self-esteem. A significant positive
correlation was found between SCS scores and how long
Buddhism had been practiced. SCS was adapted and validated
for use in Brazil by Souza and Hutz (in press), and named Escala
de Autocompaixão (EAC). The 26 items on the original scale
were maintained and internal consistency was .92.
A search for self-compassion on the title of English
language peer-reviewed articles published over the last 10
years, and available on Portal Periódicos CAPES, results
in almost 100 studies on SC, though none of them with a
Brazilian sample. Studies correlate SC (almost all using
SCS) with constructs such as optimism, hope, subjective
well-being, empathy, resiliency, body image, stress, coping,
homesickness, academic failure, and depression.
As the article compilation showed, many aspects are
suitable for analysis with SC. It seems pertinent to ask, for
example, if there are differences between SC in men and
women, or between teenagers, adults and the elderly. What
follows is a summary of available studies that deal with
different age and gender aspects, as they relate to SC.
Self-Compassion and Age and Gender Differences
Neff (2003b) found significantly lower SC scores on
women. Women scored higher than men in self-criticism,
isolation and over-identification, and had lower mindfulness
scores. On the Buddhist practitioner’s sample, however,
the absence of gender differences was an indication for the
author that such practice fosters mental health in both men
and women. Neff, Rude and Kirkpatrick (2007) and Iskender
(2009) have failed to detect SC gender differences. However,
Neff and McGehee (2010), while comparing adolescents and
adults, did not found SC gender differences related in the
former, while detecting lower SC in adult women. Research
results suggest SC gender differences remain an open issue.
On the topic of age differences, Neff (2003a, 2009)
resorts to Elkind (1967) to argue SC is challenging for
teenagers. According to the latter, at this stage in life the
individual is immersed in self-reflections, self-evaluations and
comparisons with expected social standards. In his concept
of teenage egocentrism, the mechanisms of personal fable
(the certainty that what passes happens only to the individual
and nobody else) and imaginary audience (constant sensation
of being in a stage with an audience, watching) contribute to
this self-immersions, as well as a heighten self-monitoring
of magnified defects and imperfections. These cognitive
distortions contribute to the sudden changes of humor
teenagers experience in a single day. In this sense, teenage
egocentrism would empower isolation, self-criticism and
over-identification – three elements of SC.
Neff and McGehee (2010), in a study that compared
teenagers and young adults, did not find significant SC

Souza, L. K., & Hutz, C. S. (2016). Self-Compassion, Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy.
183
differences related to age. Neither such differences were
found by Neff e Pommier (2013), in a research with college
students and adults that were not enrolled in higher education.
The issue of age therefore also still needs to be investigated.
SC is a psychological health construct that seeks to
contribute for the understanding of how the subject sees
herself and deals with herself when faced with his own life’s
difficulties and sufferings. It seeks to show how the subject
evaluates herself when confronted with mistakes and failures.
Self-esteem is another concept related to the way people
value themselves in relation to others, and how they evaluate
their lives. In the next section we discuss the concept of self-
esteem in contrast to SC.
Self-Compassion Versus Self-Esteem in Evaluating a
Healthy Attitude
Hewitt (2005) states self-esteem as culturally based,
originating from “a culture that nourishes a belief in the
importance of the individual self even while making the self
problematic” (p. 135) – the US culture. People follow social
expectations in order to be accepted, and thus increase their
self-esteem; they develop close relationships with those who
evaluate them in a positive light; in order to increase their
self-efficacy they engage in tasks in which they believe they
can be successful. This bias, which continuously serves the
self, protects self-esteem, allowing people to receive credit
for their successes and blame others for failures.
Neff (2003a, 2003b) develops four arguments against
self-esteem. First, due to its change-resistant character, it
seems difficult for self-esteem to be increased. Second,
excessive emphasis on self-esteem can lead to narcissism,
self-absorption, absence of care/concern towards others,
distorted self-perception and egocentrism. In third place, the
wish to increase self-esteem can, on the other hand, lead one
to seek out the worst in others so that one may positively
stand out in contrast. The fourth argument comes from
research showing positive association between high self-
esteem and xenophobia: an inflated sense of self-esteem can
lead to aggression and violence against those perceived as a
threat. In bullying, for example, the aggressor acts that way
in order to feel good (Neff, 2009).
With SC it is not necessary to resort to social
comparison for self-acceptance, nor to run the risk of
creating numerous or unreal expectations in an effort to
get approval or reinforcement – which are all possibilities
in self-esteem (Neff, 2003a, 2003b). To accept one’s own
mistakes and failures, to bestow kindness upon oneself, to
balance thoughts and feelings over experienced suffering and
to recognize oneself as a member of a human community
(fallible and able to learn through errors and sorrows) allows
for an accurate view of experiences and subjective states, a
realist perspective over difficulties, faults and inadequacies,
as well as over potentialities for change and the pursuit of
happiness. Indeed, considering these points, it appears that
promoting SC is more desirable than increasing self-esteem.
While working on the validation for the SCS, Neff
(2003b) ascertained a significant positive correlation (r =
.59) between RSES and SCS, suggesting that they are similar
constructs, with distinctions. The result was also interpreted
as evidence that we should expect self-compassionate people
to have a greater sense of self-worth in contrast to those who
disallow themselves to err, believe their own suffering is unique,
and over-identify with their own feelings – that is, people with
low SC. Significant positive correlations were found between
self-esteem and narcissism, while non-significant positive ones
were found between narcissism and SC.
According to Leary, Tate, Adams, Allen and Hancock
(2007), “when people high in self-esteem encounter negative
life events, they sometimes engage in self-serving biases (…),
presumably because reactions help to make them feel better
about themselves” (p. 902). This defensiveness contributes to the
argument that SC and self-esteem engender different processes.
Neff and Vonk (2009) compared three instruments of
self-esteem (global, contingent and state self-esteem) to
SCS and self-worth measures, social comparison, public
self-consciousness, rumination, narcissism, anger, need
for cognitive closure, optimism, happiness and positive
affection. SC, better than self-esteem, predicted stability of
self-worth feelings; it had significant and negative association
with anger, social comparison, public self-consciousness,
rumination and the need for cognitive closure; and it was able
to predict significant additional variances over happiness,
optimism and positive affection, while controlling for self-
esteem. Narcissism was shown to be positively associated
with self-esteem, but not to SC, as in Neff (2003b).
According to Neff (2011), SC “is available precisely
when self-esteem fails us – when we fall flat on our face,
embarrass ourselves, or otherwise come in direct contact
with the imperfection of life” (p. 6). While self-esteem leads
to feelings of superiority and self-confidence, SC promotes a
sense of safety and protection.
Vonk and Smit (2012), in a recent study correlating SC
and self-esteem, sampled 3.575 Netherlanders aged from 16
to 83 years old. The self-esteem scale created by the authors
correlated significantly and positively both with RSES (r
= .86) and SCS (r = .62). In Brazil RSES seems to be the
preferred choice for research. Hutz and Zanon (2011) work
pointed out that people between 20 and 30 years of age show
less self-esteem than other age groups, and that men aged 16
to 19 years old present higher scores.
An important psychological construct associated with the
way people think about seeking personal goals is self-efficacy.
If one completely identifies with an illness one is facing (over-
identification), severely criticizes one’s own incapacities, even
when they are transitory (self-criticism), mistreats oneself (shows
no self-kindness), avoids interaction (isolation), does not think
clearly or is not able to measure emotional reactions (without the
balance of mindfulness), and believes to be the only one to suffer
this way (no sense of common humanity), how one’s self-efficacy
belief can take hold?
Self-Efficacy and Self-Compassion
Self-efficacy involves beliefs held by people over the
ability to achieve desired goals through their own actions

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(Bandura, 1997). It is the belief that one can achieve something
through one’s own resources, and in some circumstances,
that one can perform the behavior that leads to the desired
goal. It is influenced by attempts to control environments,
observation of other people’s behavior, imagining hypothetical
situations, reactions and physiological states, and by other
people’s perspective over what we believe we can achieve. It is
negatively associated with depression, anxiety and avoidance,
and positively associated with self-confidence and attempts to
overcome issues with drugs and food. It influences the adoption
of healthy behaviors, withdrawing from harmful behaviors
and the perseverance on changes made even when faced
with challenges and difficulties. Self-efficacy beliefs affect
physiological response to stress, and their promotion effectively
helps with actions that improve health (Maddux, 2002).
Over the last 10 years there’s been a perceptible increase
in investigations about self-efficacy, both general and
domain specific. There is works on self-efficacy on insulin
management in patients with diabetes, in patients with chronic
pain, and self-efficacy focused on student performance. On
the topic of general self-efficacy, Pacico, Ferraz, and Hutz
(2012) have developed a general scale of self-efficacy which
shows good performance (alfa = .87). The most recent work
on the general self-efficacy scale is Pacico et al. (2014); in it
the researchers detected a .89 index of internal consistency.
Only one single study was found dealing with both SC and
self-efficacy. Iskender (2009) included in his study a measure of
control belief for learning. SC was evaluated with SCS and self-
efficacy was analyzed by a subscale taken from an instrument
of motivation strategies. The sample was composed of Turkish
college students, and the reliability of the self-efficacy subscale
for the population under study was .86. A positive association
was found between self-efficacy, control belief for learning,
self-kindness, sense of common humanity and mindfulness.
On the contrary, isolation, self-criticism and over-identification
were negatively associated with self-efficacy. Thus, for this
author, in outlining interventions, an increase in self-efficacy
would lead to decreases in social isolation, over-identification
with problems, and severe self-judgment.
In discussing influences on self-efficacy, Maddux (2002)
notes that successful attempts in situations in which the person
is in control, and for which the result is attributed to their own
efforts, increase the sense of self-efficacy. On the other hand, a
perception of failure in these circumstances reduces self-efficacy.
This way, it makes sense to bring a SC attitude to foreground.
In such situations, the most self-compassionate individuals will
be able to perceive their own failure as something also present
in the lives of others, and will be able to bestow kindness on
themselves when dealing with their feelings and thoughts in a
balanced way. So it can be concluded that a self-compassionate
attitude is relevant, so to say, for the journey of self-efficacy –
bearing on its increase or reduction.
Seeking Relationships Between Self-Compassion, Self-
Esteem, Self-Efficacy, and Sociodemographic Aspects
As we have argued, the SC concept, though not new, is
seen as a novelty within studies that focus on the subjective
evaluation of processes connected to how we deal with the
self. SCS, originally published in 2003, has been used in
correlation to positive and negative aspects in the field of
psychological health.
In following with the current discussion in the literature
available, the present study sought to verify correlations
between SC, self-esteem and self-efficacy, as well as an
examination of aspects such as religion, experience with
psychotherapy, the use of psychiatric drugs, involvement
in paid occupation and having children. With respect to
religion, Neff (2003b) studies with Buddhist practitioners
indicated differences in SC – after all, it is a construct
based on a Buddhist concept. Psychotherapy and the use
of psychiatric drugs are options of treatment used on more
lasting experiences of psychological suffering, and as such,
can show a relationship with the SC score. Paid occupation
bear on involvement in work contexts in which individuals
widen their network, including hierarchies, as well as deal
with successes and failures that can influence in one’s well-
being. In this way, the self-compassionate individual should
be able to better deal with mistakes and faults at the work
environment. On the topic of raising children, it is a significant
change in someone’s life, very common in the adult phase,
for which the literature signals increased SC. Furthermore,
parenting strategies are prone to successes and failures, hits
and misses, and thus suitable for relationships with SC.
From the proposed landscape, this study has for goal
the investigation of relationships between self-compassion,
self-esteem and self-efficacy, gender and age differences, as
well as other sociodemographic variables in self-compassion.
It is an exploratory study, with both correlation and group
comparison.
Method
Participants
The sample has enlisted 432 people (50% of them
women), presenting an average of 32.5 (SD = 11.1) years of
age, ranging from 18 to 66 years old, from several Brazilian
states. Most participants were from Minas Gerais, São Paulo,
and Rio Grande do Sul; the only states with no participants
were Acre, Roraima, and Piauí. As for involvement in a stable
romantic relationship, 39% were married or living with
someone in the equivalent of a common-law marriage and
24% were seeing someone; there were also 32% of single
people, 4% of divorced or separated and 1% of widowers, that
is, groups of participants with no stable romantic involvement
during the data collection. To participate in the research it
was necessary to be at least 18 years old, to have been born
in Brazil, and to have secondary education. Participants who
did not meet these criteria were excluded from the sample.
Instruments
The sociodemographic survey was customized for the
research and asked for the following information: gender, age,
nationality, place of birth, current city of residence, stable

Souza, L. K., & Hutz, C. S. (2016). Self-Compassion, Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy.
185
romantic relationship (married, seeing someone, divorced,
etc.), religion and engagement in religious practice, going
through psychotherapy, level of education, job occupation,
having children, and using psychiatric drugs.
The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) was adapted for use
in Brazil by Souza and Hutz (in press) with approval by the
author, Kristin Neff. The construct validation suggested all
26 original items to be retained. The internal consistency was
.92. The subscales envisage SC components: self-kindness,
sense of common humanity, mindfulness, over-identification,
isolation, and self-criticism.
The Rosemberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) used here
incorporates both the versions published by Hutz and Zanon
(2011) and by Hutz, Zanon and Vazquez (2014), comprised
of 10 items, five of which being positive affirmations about
the self, while the remaining five being negative ones. The
General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) applied here was the
Pacico et al. (2014) version, which is comprised of 30 items.
Procedure
Data collection. Data were collected through the
Survey Monkey platform with a link for the research form
sent by e-mail. The link first led to an informed consent
agreement page that offered options to accept or decline in
participating of the research. A click on the accepting link led
the participant to the first page of instruments, consisting of
the sociodemographic survey. The following page presented
SCS, followed by RSES, and concluding with GSES. The
Informed Consent Agreement was set up according to current
Brazilian regulations on research with human subjects.
Data analysis. Descriptive statistics and Pearson
correlations within the main scales were applied. T tests for
group comparison were made on gender, age range (groups
of 18-30 years and 31-66 years), religious practice, previous
or current experience with psychotherapy, current use of
psychiatric drugs, involvement in paid occupation and having
children. In group comparison, the effect size was calculated
according to Cohen’s d, according to Magnusson (2014)
suggested interpretation.
Ethical Considerations
This study was approved by the Research Ethics
Committee of the Instituto de Psicologia at Universidade
Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS; Protocol n.
04345112.5.0000.5334).
Results
The SC average for SCS was 3.18 (SD = 0.70).
Concerning self-efficacy, the sample average for GSES
was 3.53 (SD = 0.57). Regarding self-esteem, the detected
average for RSES was 3.04 (SD = 0.31). Table 1 presents
the significant differences of SC via SCS for the following
groups: women and men, age group (17-30 and 31-66),
current use of psychiatric drug, paid occupation and having
children. Comparisons on current or previous experience
with psychotherapy and religious practice did not indicate
significant differences on SC, and are thence not presented
on the table.
Table 1
Mean Comparisons With the Self-Compassion Scale
Self-Compassion Scale
M (SD)t p d
Gender
Women (n = 216) 3.09 (0.74) 2.581 .01 .26
Men (n = 216) 3.27 (0.66)
Age range
18-30 years (n = 228) 3.05 (0.66) -4.158 .001 .40
31-66 years (n = 204) 3.33 (0.72)
Medication use
Yes (n = 61) 2.93 (0.83) 3.048 .002 .38
No (n = 371) 3.22 (0.67)
Paid occupation
Yes (n = 98) 3.01 (0.67) 2.714 .007 .32
No (n = 334) 3.23 (0.70)
Offspring
Yes (n = 122) 3.37 (0.66) -3.673 .001 .39
No (n = 310) 3.10 (0.71)
Note. M = mean, SD = standard deviation, d = Cohen’s d.

Paidéia, 26(64), 181-188
186
Differences indicated on Table 1 show that the current
sample presented higher SC scores for the following groups:
men, age between 31 and 66 years old, no use of psychiatric
drugs, no current engagement in paid occupancy and with
offspring. The compared averages found size effects (Cohen’s
d), of .26 for gender differences, and between .32 and .40 for
the remainder.
Correlations between total averages (N = 432) were all
positive and significant for the three main scales (p < .001).
The correlation for SC and self-esteem was .47, and for SC
and self-efficacy it was .50. Moreover, the correlation between
self-efficacy and self-esteem was .62. Thus they are related
constructs, but do not represent the same phenomenon.
Religions provided by participants on the
sociodemographic survey were grouped as follows: none
(no religion, atheist, skeptic, agnostic; n = 109), Catholic,
Protestant (Protestant, Evangelic, Lutheran, Presbyterian,
Adventist, Baptist), Spirits, Buddhist, other religions (the
term Christian was most used, with n = 13, in 27 answers),
and other answers (e.g., “I believe in God” and “I have an
inner god”; n = 12).
It is opportune to detail averages for SCS according to
the four religious groups showing higher frequency for the
acquired sample: Catholic (n = 186) with an 3.18 (SD = 0.73)
average; Spiritist (n = 60) and 3.18 (SD = 0.69) average;
Protestant (n = 30) and 3.09 (SD = 0.74) average; and
Buddhist (n = 8) with the highest average, 3.32 (SD = 0.84).
Averages were not compared due to the uneven distribution
of participants per group. Regardless, Buddhists stood out
with the highest SC score.
Discussion
Results show that SC was higher in the following groups:
men, people between 31 and 66 years of age, participants not
currently using psychiatric drugs, with no current engagement
in paid occupancy and with offspring. Furthermore, correlations
between SC, self-esteem and self-efficacy were significant,
positive and with results attesting the fact they measure similar
aspects, yet remain distinct constructs.
The lower SC scores on women, compared to men,
detected in this study, follow the previous findings mentioned
in literature (Neff, 2003b; Neff & McGehee, 2010). This
result may be connected to, as Neff (2003b) argues, the
excessive self-criticism usually scored by women in this
construct. Given this result, SCS’s self-criticism factor was
then compared by gender. T testing confirmed higher self-
criticism on the feminine sample: t (309) = 1.91; p = .05.
Women’s average was 2.77 (SD = 0.88; n = 169) while
men’s was 2.96 (SD = 0.86; n = 142). This difference
suggests programs dedicated to promote self-compassion,
when dealing with women participants, should give more
attention to aspects of self-criticism, which might overcome
self-kindness, sense of common humanity, mindfulness and
modest levels of isolation and over-identification.
Regarding age differences and SC, this study detected
a higher score for the older group. Even considering the
younger group was not comprised of adolescents, who for
Neff (2003a, 2009) did not perform well in SC, the results
showed a higher score for adults aged 31 to 66 years-old.
Further studies with longitudinal detailing and emphasis
on this issue will be needed to determine if the difference
is due to developmental aspects. Neff and McGehee (2010)
and Neff and Pommier (2013) did not find age differences in
their studies. Still it is worthy to consider, for example, the
possibility that adult life after 30 years of age presents more
concurrent challenges, and as such has in its favor previous
experiences that can prove useful both for the approach of
new issues as well as for becoming self-compassionate in
dealing with failures, sufferings and faults. Further studies,
as already said, should approximate the detection of more
specific aspects, in order to help elucidate the findings in
differences related to age.
The other detected significant differences in averages
are not sufficient to posit that having children, engaging in
paid occupation or using psychiatric drugs should be aspects
firmly associated with higher SC. These data were, as a matter
of fact, characteristic for the current sample. Furthermore,
there are no previous studies on SC using these variables.
An estimate of the benefits of parenthood, nevertheless,
shows people raising children with ages up to 5 years old to
have higher self-esteem, higher self-efficacy and less depression
than people raising older children (Nomaguchi, 2012). In the
present study, the age of children being raised was not collected,
but it seems to be a relevant consideration for, at least, self-
esteem levels. On account of that, given the correlations found
for self-efficacy and SC, clear hypothesis could be delineated for
connecting parenthood with self-compassion.
The SC concept used on this research is based on Buddhist
knowledge, as explained by Neff (2003a), and we thus also sought
to assess the participant’s religion. Still, the very considerable
size differences among groups by religion did not allow for
useful average comparisons within well-grounded statistics.
Nevertheless, it is interesting to take notice of SC differentiation
among the groups. The Buddhist group stood out with the highest
SC score, which fits the philosophical background employed by
Neff (2003a) as basis for the operational definition of SC. The
relationship between religiosity and psychological adjustment
is attested by Gebauer, Sedikides and Neberich (2012), who
verified psychological benefits (including self-esteem) for the
inhabitants of countries where religiosity is more deeply valued.
Of the 11 European countries studied, only Sweden showed
similar scores for people who either practice or do not practice
a religion. Future work should thus bring accurate data related
to the relationship between SC and distinct religious practices.
This study is the first to correlate SC, self-esteem and
general self-efficacy. The results suggest they are three
different yet related constructs; ultimately they all refer to
how the subject deals with his own self. The correlation
found between SC and self-esteem was lower (.50) than
the one detected by Vonk and Smit (2012) (.62), yet still
adequate. In this way, there is support for the understanding
that someone who values herself (self-esteem), that believes
she can achieve her goals through her own abilities (sense
of self-efficacy) and that has self-compassion – that is,
reaches a wider and balanced perspective regarding thoughts

Souza, L. K., & Hutz, C. S. (2016). Self-Compassion, Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy.
187
and feelings (mindfulness) when facing sufferings, failures
and errors; understands that these are part of the human
experience; avoids egocentrism and the sensation of isolation
from others; blocks over-identification with her own problems;
reduces severe self-criticism that distorts the perspective of
herself, of the world and of the future; allows self-kindness
and self-acceptance as someone who also fails and errs,
decreasing the emotional load of blame and other negative
feelings; allows for a clearer self-image and understanding of
her own difficulties (Neff, 2003a). Lastly, the only work we
found that sought to correlate a self-efficacy measurement
with SCS was Iskender (2009); nevertheless, only the SC
dimensions were correlated, separately, with self-efficacy. It
is worth noting that our research and Iskender study did not
use the same self-efficacy instrument.
About our work contributions, most of all we tried to
verify the relationships between SC, self-esteem and self-
efficacy in literature, as well as to investigate the performance
of a Brazilian sample with respect to the connections
between SC and age, gender, general self-efficacy and a set
of sociodemographic variables. The results were interesting
particularly in relation to age and gender issues, truly
accruing knowledge to the existing studies about SC.
As to the limitations of this study, firstly it is understood
that the sample, even though representing a wide range of ages,
was mainly with participants from the southeast and south
regions of Brazil. This was the case especially due to the fact that
our colleagues, who greatly helped spreading the link for data
collection, mostly worked from these two regions. Secondly,
as previously announced, the study was exploratory in nature,
above all in considering sociodemographic variables, and
dealing with almost nonexistent literature in Brazil. Therefore
the results need to be contextualized on those grounds, and also
the fact that it was not specifically conceived to ascertain issues
of religion, paid occupation, involvement in psychotherapy and
pharmacotherapy and family formation.
The Self-Compassion Scale for use in Brazil became
available just as the number and acceptance of studies on
mindfulness – an aspect of SC – grow in this country. Examples
are the Works of Barros, Kozasa, Souza, and Ronzani (2014) and
Hirayama, Milani, Rodrigues, Barros, and Alexandre (2014).
Research groups in health sciences have been developing
interventions using mindfulness and self-acceptance in patients
with chronic diseases. The measurement of SC could be a great
addition to these studies. Besides working with mindfulness and
attitudes such as self-kindness, SC incorporates the perspective
that suffering is a human experience, and that this way it should
be understood for working against self-blaming attitudes and
the feeling of being the “chosen one” while enduring some
particular suffering or other. Since published research on SC
is almost nonexistent in Brazil, the present work contributes
Brazilian data for a construct that merits attention and research
funding in this country.
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Luciana Karine de Souza is a Professor at Universidade
Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.
Claudio Simon Hutz is a Professor at Universidade Federal
do Rio Grande do Sul.
Received: Mar. 30, 2015
1st Revision: Aug. 16, 2015
Approved: Sep. 9, 2015
How to cite this article:
Souza, L. K., & Hutz, C. S. (2016). Self-compassion in
relation to self-esteem, self-efficacy and demographical
aspects. Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto), 26(64), 181-188. doi:
10.1590/1982-43272664201604