Women’s Perceptions of Positive Appearance-Related Comments from Their Husbands Based on Self-Compassion Levels

This research aimed to compare women’s perceptions of positive appearance-related comments from their husbands basedon self-compassion levels among married women in Tehran, Iran. For this purpose, in a causal-comparative design, 206 married women were selected using convenience sampling. They responded to a questionnaire of the Self-Compassion Scale and five scenarios related to appearance-related comments, along with questions for rating each type of comment. In this study, we assessed differences in women’s scores for five types of comments and the total score of all comments between high and low self-compassion groups. Women in the high self‑compassion group (M = 41.00, SD = 7.16) reported higher total scores than those in the low self‑compassion group (M = 38.00, SD = 7.83). In fact, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), controlling for age, revealed significantly higher total scores in the high self‑compassion group, F(1, 211) = 4.39, p = .03, η2 = .02. The study also shows that women with higher self‑kindness reported higher total feedback scores (M = 42.31, SD = 7.24) than those with lower self‑kindness (M = 38.95, SD = 7.63), t = 2.48, p = .01, η2 ≈ .03. Additionally, individuals with higher scores in self-compassion and its components received higher scores in comments with compassionate content. The results of this study can be valuable for therapists working in the field of women’s body image issues to identify various types of comments provided by romantic partners and encourage individuals to provide appropriate comments tailored to the individuals’ characteristics and attitudes.