SELF-COMPASSION AS A RESOURCE TO MANAGE STRESS IN WOMEN ATHLETES by Amber Dawn Mosewich B.Sc. (Hons.), University of Saskatchewan, 2006 M.Sc., University of Saskatchewan, 2008 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (Kinesiology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2013 © Amber Dawn Mosewich, 2013 i Abstract Competitive sport presents unique issues that can create a variety of demands on athletes. The purpose of this dissertation was to further understanding of self-compassion in women athletes managing challenging situations in sport. Key focuses included the fit of self- compassion within the stress and coping process, relation of self-compassion with sport-relevant variables, and self-compassion intervention effectiveness with women athletes. Three studies worked towards accomplishing this objective. The first study took a phenomenological orientation to explore women athletes’ experiences with setbacks and accompanying coping responses, including the role of self-compassion. Thematic analysis revealed poor performance, performance plateau, and injury were common setback experiences. Managing setbacks involved having a positive approach, managing self-criticism, using social support, and striving for balance. Results suggested fostering self-compassionate perspectives may positively add to coping skills resources through targeting issues the athletes identified as challenging, such as rumination and self-criticism in pursuit of perfection. Given these issues, and the conceptual links to coping expressed in the initial study, a second prospective study examined the relations between self-compassion, perfectionism, and the stress and coping process. Self-compassion was negatively related to social evaluative aspects of perfectionism, threat appraisal, avoidance coping, and negative affect, and positively related to control appraisal. Though no support was found for self-compassion as a moderator variable in the relation between goal progress and different aspects of the stress and coping process, results indicated that both goal progress and self-compassion were important individual predictors of the stress process. These results strengthen self-compassion’s theoretical and empirical connection to evaluative processes and coping in athletes. The third study evaluated a self-compassion intervention consisting of ii psychoeducation and writing components designed to promote self-compassionate mind-frames when dealing with difficult events. The self-compassion intervention was successful, resulting in higher levels of self-compassion, and lower levels of state self-criticism, state rumination, and concern over mistakes in a group of varsity women athletes, compared to an attention control group. The intervention supported the use of self-compassion to help women athletes manage stress. Overall, this dissertation provides support for the utility of self-compassion in sport as a resource for women athletes. iii Preface Study 1 (outlined in Chapter 2) was conducted at the University of British Columbia. A version of this work has been accepted for publication in Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health (copyright Taylor & Francis). Dr. Peter Crocker and Dr. Kent Kowalski are co-authors on the manuscript. My co-authors aided in study design and manuscript editing. I was involved in all stages of the research process, including study design, ethics application, participant recruitment, data collection and analysis, and manuscript preparation. Chapter 2 is a version of a manuscript of an article whose final and definitive form, the Version of Record, has been published in Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health (date of publication online: February 12, 2013; copyright Taylor & Francis), available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/[DOI:10.1080/2159676X.2013.766810]. The citation is as follows: [Mosewich, A. D., Crocker, P. R. E., & Kowalski, K. C. (2013). Managing injury and other setbacks in sport: Experiences of (and resources for) high performance women athletes. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/2159676X .2013.766810]. Print form will also be available from the journal. Ethical approval was granted by the University of British Columbia Behavioural Research Ethics Board (H09-02846). Study 2 (outlined in Chapter 3) was also conducted at the University of British Columbia. This work was associated with a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) grant held by Dr. Peter Crocker. Dr. Peter Crocker, Dr. Kent Kowalski, Dr. Patrick Gaudreau, and Dr. Catherine Sabiston are co-authors on this work, and a version will be submitted for publication. My co-authors aided in study design and manuscript editing, and Dr. iv Peter Crocker helped to guide the data analysis. I was responsible for incorporating the self- compassion construct into the research, and was primarily responsible for participant recruitment, data collection and analysis, and manuscript preparation. Ethical approval was granted by the University of British Columbia Behavioural Research Ethics Board (H10-01387). Study 3 (outlined in Chapter 4) was conducted at the University of British Columbia, and data was collected at the University of British Columbia, the University of Saskatchewan, and the University of Regina. A version of this work has been submitted for publication. Dr. Peter Crocker, Dr. Kent Kowalski, and Dr. Anita DeLongis are co-authors on the manuscript. My co- authors aided in study design and manuscript editing. I was involved in all stages of the research process, including study design, ethics application, participant recruitment, conducting the intervention and control group sessions, data collection and analysis, and manuscript preparation. Ethical approval was granted by the University of British Columbia Behavioural Research Ethics Board (H11-02583). v Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Preface............................................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. xi Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... xii Dedication .................................................................................................................................... xiv Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Stress and Coping in Sport .................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Cognitive-Motivational-Relational Theory of Emotion: A common coping framework. ................................................................................................................................................. 2 1.1.2 Coping frameworks in sport: Promoting effective coping strategies and resources. ..... 5 1.2 Situating Self-Compassion: Potential Role and Relevance in Sport ..................................... 6 1.2.1 Self-compassion defined. ................................................................................................ 6 1.2.2 Self-compassion and adaptive functioning. .................................................................... 7 1.2.3 Self-compassion as a coping resource. ......................................................................... 11 1.2.4 Managing hardships in sport: The role of self-compassion. ......................................... 14 1.2.5 Interventions to foster a self-compassionate mindset. .................................................. 15 1.3 Applying Self-Compassion in Sport ................................................................................... 23 1.4 General Overview of Purpose and Objectives .................................................................... 25 Chapter 2: Managing Injury and Other Setbacks in Sport: Experiences of (and Resources for) High Performance Women Athletes ............................................................................................. 27 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 27 2.2 Method ................................................................................................................................ 31 2.2.1 Participants. .................................................................................................................. 31 vi 2.2.2 Procedure. ..................................................................................................................... 31 2.2.3 Interview guide. ............................................................................................................ 33 2.2.4 Data analysis. ................................................................................................................ 33 2.2.5 Credibility. ...................................................................................................................