The relationship between self-compassion and the risk for substance use disorder

•Relationship between substance use disorder risk and self-compassion (SC) was explored.•Low risk for substance use disorder was associated with higher level of SC.•High risk for substance use disorder correlated strongly with all six subscales of SC. This study explored the relationship between sub...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Drug and alcohol dependence 2018-02, Vol.183, p.78-81
Main Authors: Phelps, Cynthia L., Paniagua, Samantha M., Willcockson, Irmgard U., Potter, Jennifer S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcohols
Bivariate analysis
Demographics
Digital media
Drug abuse
Drug addiction
Drug addiction treatment
High risk
Medical screening
Medical treatment
Mitigation
Polls & surveys
Prevention programs
Risk
Risk groups
Self compassion
Self-medication
Shame
Smoking
Social media
Sociodemographics
Substance use
Substance use disorder
Suffering
Sympathy
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Summary:•Relationship between substance use disorder risk and self-compassion (SC) was explored.•Low risk for substance use disorder was associated with higher level of SC.•High risk for substance use disorder correlated strongly with all six subscales of SC. This study explored the relationship between substance use disorder risk and self-compassion and posits a model for how the two are related through the mitigation of suffering. Study participants were recruited using social media to complete an online survey that included a basic socio-demographic survey and two validated instruments, the Self-Compassion Survey and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Alcohol Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), which screens for substance use disorder (SUD) risk. Established cut scores for ASSIST were used to divide participants into low, moderate and high-risk groups. Participants (n=477) were 31 years old on average, almost evenly split by gender, mostly non-Hispanic white, slightly more likely to be single and to hold an Associate’s degree or higher. Overall, 89% of participants reported using drugs and/or alcohol in their lifetime. SUD risk was distributed between low risk (52%), moderate risk (37%) and a smaller percentage of high risk (11%). Self-compassion was inversely related to SUD risk. The low risk group had a higher mean self-compassion score (M=2.86, SD=0.75) than the people who were high risk (M=2.25, SD=0.61) (t(298)=5.58 p
ISSN:0376-8716
1879-0046
DOI:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.10.026