Background: Two ‘sibling’ disorders have been proposed for the fourthcoming 11th version of
the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11): post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
and complex PTSD (CPTSD). Examining psychological factors that may be associated with
CPTSD, such as self-compassion, is an important first step in its treatment that can inform
consideration of which problems are most salient and what interventions are most relevant.
Aims: We set out to investigate the association between self-compassion and the two factors of
CPTSD: the PTSD factor (re-experiencing, avoidance, sense of threat) and the Disturbances in
Self-Organization (DSO) factor (affect dysregulation, negative self-concept and disturbances in
relationships). We hypothesized that self-compassion subscales would be negatively associated
with both PTSD and DSO symptom clusters. Method: A predominantly female, clinical
sample (n = 106) completed self-report scales to measure traumatic life events, ICD-11
CPTSD and self-compassion. Results: Significant negative associations were found between
the CPTSD DSO clusters of symptoms and self-compassion subscales, but not for the PTSD
ones. Specifically it was also found that self-judgement and common humanity significantly
predicted hypoactive affect dysregulation whereas self-judgement and isolation significantly
predicted negative self-concept. Conclusions: Our results indicate that self-compassion may
be a useful treatment target for ICD-11 CPTSD, particularly for symptoms of negative selfconcept and affect dysregulation. Future research is required to investigate the efficacy and
acceptability of interventions that have implicit foundations on compassion.
Ireland ->
Maynooth University ->
Academic Unit = Faculty of Science and Engineering: Psychology
Ireland ->
Maynooth University ->
Type = Article
Ireland ->
Maynooth University ->
Status = Published
Mark Shevlin,
Marylène Cloitre,
Neil P Roberts,
Jonathan I. Bisson,
Sarah Philips,
Jackie Thomas,
Paula Easton,
Katharine Logan,
Claire Fyvie,
Aoife Bradley
and 2 others