SELF-COMPASSION AND PROACTIVE COPING: MOVING BEYOND ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY COPING

Abstract

We investigated the relationship between self-compassion and proactive coping. Participants were 99 undergraduate students at a Toronto university who completed two questionnaires: the Self-Compassion Scale and the Proactive Coping Inventory. As a significant positive correlation was found between the two scales, our results supported the hypothesis that individuals high in self-compassion cope proactively during difficult times. Moreover, among the varying types of coping styles, proactive coping best predicted self-compassion, although emotional support seeking also seems to play an important role. An additional outcome of this study was to assess the validity of the Proactive Coping Inventory with a new sample. It was found to be internally consistent in terms of both Cronbach’s alpha and the pattern of correlations among the seven subscales.