The Effectiveness of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) on Sleep Disturbance and Psychosomatic Pain with the Mediating Role of Decentering in Older Adults with War-Related Trauma
Keywords:
Compassion-centered mindfulness (MSC), sleep disorder, psychosomatic pain, defocusing, elderly, Ramadan war traumaAbstract
Objective: The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) training on reducing sleep disturbance and psychosomatic pain through the mediating role of decentering in older adults affected by war-related trauma in Tehran.
Methods and Materials: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with pretest–posttest, control group, and a two-month follow-up. The statistical population consisted of adults aged over 60 years residing in Tehran who had experienced direct or indirect trauma related to the Ramadan War. A total of 30 participants were selected using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Research instruments included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Psychosomatic Pain Questionnaire, the Decentering Scale (EQ), and the Self-Compassion Scale. The experimental group participated in eight sessions of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) intervention, whereas the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA, multivariate analysis of covariance, and path analysis in SPSS version 26.
Findings: The findings demonstrated that Mindful Self-Compassion significantly reduced sleep disturbance and psychosomatic pain among traumatized older adults (P<0.001). Multivariate covariance analysis indicated that nearly 50% of the observed variance in dependent variables was attributable to the MSC intervention. Univariate analyses further revealed that 41% of the variance in psychosomatic pain and 39% of the variance in sleep disturbance were explained by the treatment effect. In addition, decentering played a significant mediating role in the relationship between compassion-focused intervention and reductions in sleep disturbance and psychosomatic pain, with all indirect effects reported as statistically significant (P<0.001).
Conclusion: The results suggest that Mindful Self-Compassion improves sleep quality and alleviates psychosomatic pain by strengthening decentering skills and promoting nonjudgmental awareness of traumatic experiences. MSC may therefore serve as an effective psychological rehabilitation and supportive intervention for older adults exposed to war-related trauma in counseling, rehabilitation, and geriatric mental health settings.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Arsalan Barekat; Tayyebeh Delshad, Soheila Rahmani, Amineh Jalali, Leila Sadat Modaresi, Parisa kolahi (Author)

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