The IndirectRole of Self-Compassion in the Relationship Between Childhood Peer Bullying and Social Comparison Based on Physical Appearance

Abstract

People spend a large part of their lives interacting with others. These interactions shape people's self- perceptions and are reflected in how they present themselves. Communication with peers during childhood affects their interactions with their environment and their attitudes towards themselves in different ways in adulthood. Research suggests that individuals who have experienced peer bullying in childhood have lower levels of self-compassion and feel less valuable, powerless, or repulsive compared to their peers. However, these studies have not examined the physical dimension of social comparison and have not investigated the relationship between social media and this issue. The aim of this research is to address these variables, which have not been previously examined in the literature. The study included 215 (137 female) Instagram users aged 18–24. In a cross-sectional mediation model, findings indicated an indirect role of self-compassion in the relationship between childhood peerbullying and socialcomparison scoresbased on physicalappearance. Findings regarding the moderating role of gender were not supportive. The results were evaluated within the framework of information obtained from the literature, and the contribution of the research to the literature, its limitations, and suggestions for future research were presented.