Mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between psychological flexibility and psychological well-being in women with breast cancer

Abstract Background: Previous studies have investigated the relationship between psychological flexibility and psychological well-being among university students. In addition to examining the relationship between these two variables, this study enhances our understanding about the process underlying the relationship between psychological flexibility and psychological well-being among women with breast cancer. The aim of the present study was to test the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between psychological flexibility and psychological well-being among Iranian women with breast cancer. Methods: The participants of this study, 220 women with breast cancer (ages 28 to 58 years, mean age: 42.16, SD: ±6.9.54) from three hospitals, in Tehran, Iran completed questionnaires about psychological flexibility, self-compassion and psychological well-being. Results: The results from structural equation modeling indicated that psychological flexibility and self-compassion positively predicted psychological well-being and psychological inflexibility negatively predicted psychological well-being among breast cancer patients. The findings from mediation analysis demonstrated that self-compassion partially mediated the relationships between psychological flexibility and psychological inflexibility with psychological well-being. The present study brings to light an underlying mechanism of the relationships between psychological flexibility and psychological inflexibility with psychological well-being via the mediating variable of self-compassion for patients with breast cancer.