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Adolescent Self-Compassion Moderates the Relationship Between Perceived Stress and Internalizing Symptoms
Christine Lathren1, Karen Bluth2, Jinyoung Park1
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Program on Integrative Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Box 7200, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514 USA 919-966-8586.
Personality and Individual Differences
|February 12, 2020
Summary
Self-compassion helps adolescents cope with stress by reducing internalizing symptoms like depression and anxiety. This adaptive emotion regulation strategy shows similar benefits for both genders, with slight differences in anxiety moderation.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Adolescent Development
- Mental Health
Background:
- Self-compassion involves responding to difficulties with care and concern.
- Adolescence presents unique challenges and stress, making coping mechanisms crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if self-compassion buffers the impact of perceived stress on internalizing symptoms in adolescents.
- To examine potential gender differences in the relationship between self-compassion, stress, and internalizing symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study utilizing survey data from 1,057 adolescents in U.S. school settings.
- Regression analysis was employed to assess the relationships and moderation effects.
Main Results:
- Self-compassion was inversely related to internalizing symptoms.
- The relationship between stress and internalizing symptoms (depression, anxiety) was moderated by self-compassion levels.
- Moderation effects were similar for depressive symptoms across genders, but anxiety moderation was slightly greater in males.
Conclusions:
- Self-compassion is an adaptive emotion regulation strategy beneficial for adolescents experiencing stress.
- Findings support self-compassion's role in mitigating internalizing symptoms during adolescence.
- Further research is recommended to confirm gender differences in anxiety moderation.
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