Does self-compassion protect adolescents who are victimized or suffer from academic difficulties from depression?



: Oskari Lahtinen, Elina Järvinen, Sonja Kumlander, Christina Salmivalli

Publisher: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

: 2019

: European Journal of Developmental Psychology

: EUR J DEV PSYCHOL

: 17

: 432

: 446

: 15

: 1740-5629

: 1740-5610

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2019.1662290


Adolescents face many social and academic difficulties which, if not managed properly, can lead to depression. Self-compassion, a kind and caring orientation towards oneself, has emerged as a possible resilience factor alleviating depression. Self-compassion comprises two factors: self-compassion and self-coldness. The present study set out to investigate whether self-compassion weakens or self-coldness strengthens the association between depression and two difficult circumstances: victimization and academic difficulties (ADs). The sample consisted of 2383 students who had recently made the transition to upper secondary education. The study was cross-sectional and employed a hierarchical regression analysis approach. Strongest interactions were followed up with simple slope analysis. Self-compassion (inversely), self-coldness, ADs, and victimization were statistically significant predictors of depression. Self-compassion weakened the association between ADs and depression. The results suggest encountering difficulties in adolescence and depression are related and that self-compassion may moderate the association.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 16:07