Relationship between Physical Self and Interpersonal Distress in Undergraduates: Mediating Effect of Self-Acceptance

Objective To explore the characteristics of physical self, self-acceptance and interpersonal distress Among undergraduates and analyze the relationship among the above 3 variables.

Method: Adolescents’ Physical Self Scale (APSS), Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (SAQ), Interpersonal Comprehension Diagnosis Scale (ICDS), and a self-compiled questionnaire on the general personal information are administrated to 987 undergraduates who are selected from 2 universities in Guangdong province by the convenient sampling  method.

Results: (1) The total score of APSS, SAQ and ICDS are (142.33±29.30), (40.96±5.91), and (9.01±5.84), respectively. (2) There is a pairwise Correlation among the total scores of APSS, SAQ and ICDS (r=.305, -.332, -.621, all P< .01). (3) The total score of SAQ has a partly mediating effect in the relationship between the total scores of APSS and ICDS, and the mediating effectt accounts for 72.34% of the total effect.

Conclusion: Physical self not only has a direct impact on the interpersonal distress among the undergraduates, but also indirectly influences it through self-acceptance.