Self-Acceptance Mediates the Relationship between Perceived Parenting Behaviors and Fears of Compassion

Based on Beck’s cognitive model, this study aimed to examine the mediating role of self-acceptance in the relationships between parenting behaviors and fears of compassion from others/for self. A set of questionnaires were completed by 684 undergraduate students from a university in Fujian Province in China, and Structural Equation Modelling was employed to analyze the data. The results showed that parental care was positively associated with self-approval and self-evaluation, whereas parental overprotection was negatively related to self-approval and self-evaluation. Furthermore, self-approval contributed to fear of compassion from others and for self subsequently, and self-evaluation only contributed to fear of compassion for self subsequently. These findings support the mediating role of self-acceptance in the relationship between parental care/overprotection and fears of compassion from others/for self. In addition, the study found that self-approval, rather than self-evaluation, played a mediating role between parental care/overprotection and fear of compassion from others.