Modeling Women's Psychological Flourishing Based on Self-Compassion, Emotional Intelligence, Perceived Social Support, and Body Appreciation: The Mediating Role of Psychological Flexibility
Keywords:
Psychological Flourishing, Self-Compassion, Emotional Intelligence, Perceived Social Support, Body Appreciation, Psychological FlexibilityAbstract
Objective: The present study aimed to develop and test a structural model of women's psychological flourishing based on self-compassion, emotional intelligence, perceived social support, and body appreciation, with psychological flexibility serving as a mediating variable.
Methods and Materials: This descriptive-correlational study employed a cross-sectional design and structural equation modeling (SEM). The study population consisted of adult women residing in Canada in 2026. A total of 620 women were selected through online convenience sampling and completed a battery of standardized questionnaires, including the Flourishing Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Body Appreciation Scale-2, and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 29 and AMOS version 29. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, and structural equation modeling were performed. The significance of indirect effects was examined using a bootstrap procedure with 5,000 resamples and 95% confidence intervals.
Findings: The measurement model demonstrated excellent fit to the data (χ²/df = 2.12, CFI = .957, TLI = .951, RMSEA = .042, SRMR = .038). Significant positive correlations were observed among all study variables (p < .001). Structural equation modeling revealed that self-compassion (β = .26, p < .001), emotional intelligence (β = .17, p < .001), perceived social support (β = .14, p < .001), body appreciation (β = .12, p < .001), and psychological flexibility (β = .42, p < .001) significantly predicted psychological flourishing. Furthermore, self-compassion (β = .35, p < .001), emotional intelligence (β = .24, p < .001), perceived social support (β = .18, p < .001), and body appreciation (β = .29, p < .001) significantly predicted psychological flexibility. Bootstrap analyses confirmed significant indirect effects of all predictor variables on flourishing through psychological flexibility. The model explained 64% of the variance in psychological flexibility and 78% of the variance in psychological flourishing.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that self-compassion, emotional intelligence, perceived social support, and body appreciation contribute significantly to women's psychological flourishing both directly and indirectly through psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility emerged as a central mechanism linking personal strengths and social resources to optimal psychological functioning. These results highlight the importance of multidimensional strengths-based interventions aimed at enhancing flexibility, self-compassion, emotional competencies, social connectedness, and positive body image to promote flourishing and well-being among women.
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