The current study provided an initial investigation of the effect of self-compassion on reducing materialism and explored the basic psychological needs and self-esteem as potential mechanisms. Two studies would be conducted. Study 1 explored the relationships among variables with cross-sectional data, to explore the relationship between self-compassion and materialism, and test the mediating role of basic psychological needs and self-esteem. Study 2 developed a new online self-help self-compassion intervention and conducted a randomized control trial (i.e., intervention group and waitlist group) to further explore the casual effect of self-compassion on materialism, with the mediating effect of basic psychological needs and self-esteem.
The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) consented to accept randomization, finish the intervention and fill out questionnaires and (2) had no current or previous mental disorder diagnosis. The Chinese Version of Self-compassion Scale (SCS-C; Chen et al., 2011) was used to measure the self-compassion level of participants. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965) was used to measure self-esteem using 10 items. The Balanced Measure of Psychological Needs Scale (BMPN; Sheldon \& Hilpert, 2012) was used to measure basic psychological needs. The Material Tendencies Scale (MTS; Zhang \& Xiao, 2019) was used to measure materialism.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
309
Participants would be provided a 14-days online course, and they need to finish the courses within 21 days.
Xianglong Zeng
Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
Self-compassion
The Chinese Version of Self-compassion Scale (SCS-C; Chen et al., 2011) was used to measure the self-compassion level of participants. The scale rated from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 5 (describes me very well), and higher scores mean a higher level of compassion.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Self-Esteem
The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965) was used to measure self-esteem using 10 items. The scale rated from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 5 (describes me very well), and higher score indicated a higher level of self-esteem.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Basic Psychological Needs
The Balanced Measure of Psychological Needs Scale (BMPN; Sheldon \& Hilpert, 2012) was used to measure basic psychological needs. The scale rated from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 7 (describes me very well), and higher score indicated a higher level of basic psychological needs.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Materialism
The Material Tendencies Scale (MTS; Zhang \& Xiao, 2019) was used to measure materialism. The scale rated from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 5 (describes me very well), and higher scores indicated a higher level of materialism.
Time frame: 12 weeks
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