Combining social media literacy with self-compassion: Testing the SoSelf mHealth training

During teenage years and early adulthood, many women experience high stress levels regarding their appearance. Especially appearance-related comparisons on social media fuel body dissatisfaction. To remedy this, both social media literacy and self-compassion interventions have each been shown as separately effective but are rarely implemented together. The SoSelf training does so in the context of an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study. This feasibility study was run with a convenience sample of 26 young women (age range 15-21, M = 19.0, SD = 1.8) throughout 30 days. Feasibility, engagement, acceptability and potential effectiveness of the SoSelf training were assessed using data from pre-, post- and follow-up questionnaires, Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) and a semi-structured feedback interview. In favor of feasibility, we found high engagement (EMA compliance rates: M = 90.7 %, SD = 9.5 %) and acceptability (high satisfaction ratings in semi-structured interviews). As for potential effectiveness, increases in self-compassion and body appreciation, along with decreases in social appearance anxiety were observed post-intervention and maintained at the one-month follow-up. The combination of two fundamentally different training elements was well received and points to the potential of multi-componential interventions. Formal randomized controlled trials are necessary prior to dissemination.