Emotional Flexibility as a Mediator between Love Styles and Self-Compassion: A Multi-Group SEM of Divorcing and Non-Divorcing Women
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Objective: This study aimed to examine and compare the structural relationship between love styles and self-compassion mediated by emotional flexibility in divorcing and non-divorcing women.
Methods and Materials: Using a correlational research design based on structural equation modeling (SEM), the study was conducted on 400 women (200 divorcing and 200 non-divorcing) selected through multistage cluster sampling from counseling centers across Tehran in 2024. Instruments included the Self-Compassion Scale (Neff, 2003), the Triangular Love Scale (Sternberg, 1986), and the Emotional Flexibility Scale (Fu et al., 2018). Data were analyzed using SPSS v26 and AMOS v24. Bootstrapping was used to test mediating effects, and structural weights were compared between groups.
Findings: The proposed model had good fit indices in both groups. In divorcing women, passion and commitment had significant direct effects on emotional flexibility, while intimacy and passion influenced self-compassion. In non-divorcing women, all love components (intimacy, passion, and commitment) significantly predicted both emotional flexibility and self-compassion. Emotional flexibility significantly mediated the relationship between love styles and self-compassion in both groups, with stronger effects observed among non-divorcing women. The final model explained 89% and 62% of the variance in self-compassion for divorcing and non-divorcing women, respectively.
Conclusion: Emotional flexibility serves as a key psychological mechanism linking romantic love patterns to self-compassion. The findings underscore the importance of emotional regulation capacities in fostering compassion and resilience in the context of romantic relationships, especially in women facing marital transitions.
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