Irritable bowel syndrome is influenced by several psychological factors that influence individuals' vulnerability. Emotional schemas, which are a set of beliefs about emotions, are considered to be one of these important factors.The aim of this study is to investigate the role of self-compassion as a mediating mechanism in explaining the causal relationships between emotional schemas and the Symptom Severity in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.
Materials and Methods
The method of this study was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population included patients with irritable bowel syndrome who referred to the gastroenterology clinic of Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad during 2020. A convenience sample of 323 patients was selected. Research tools include Leahy Emotional Schema Scale, Francis et al. IBS Symptom Severity Questionnaire, and Neff Self-Compassion Scale. The data were analyzed by structural equation modeling.Findings: The total path coefficient for maladaptive schemas towards increasing the severity of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms was positive and significant. In contrast, adaptive schemas were related to decreasing the severity of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. Self-compassion also showed a significant and negative relationship directly with the reduction in the severity of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. Indirect effects through self-compassion were also significant: maladaptive schemas were negatively related to self-compassion and adaptive schemas were positively related to self-compassion, and finally this mediation was related to the severity of symptoms.
Conclusion
The results show that emotional schemas, both directly and indirectly through the mechanism of self-compassion, play an important role in explaining the severity of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms.