Exploring the Potential Moderating Role of Self-Compassion on the Relationships Between Event Centrality and Post-Assault Psychological Outcomes.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine whether various post-assault internal processes (i.e., present control, event centrality, and compassionate and uncompassionate self-responding) would predict distress and resilience among women who have experienced adult sexual assault (ASA). Additionally, we tested whether compassionate and uncompassionate self-responses would moderate the relationships between event centrality and outcomes. Method: A convenience sample of women who had experienced sexual assault during adulthood (N = 253) completed an anonymous online survey. Results: Regression analyses showed that lower present control, higher event centrality, and higher uncompassionate responses to the self significantly predicted PTSD. Additionally, higher present control and higher compassionate responses to the self significantly predicted resilience. There was no moderation of the relationship between event centrality and outcomes by either compassionate responses to the self or uncompassionate responses to the self. Conclusions: Endorsing greater levels of uncompassionate responses towards the self was associated with greater distress, while engaging in greater compassionate responses to the self was associated with greater resilience, even when accounting for levels of present control and event centrality.