Self-Compassion and Resiliency in Late Adolescence after a Negative Life Event
Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated self-compassion’s protective effect in adolescents in relationship to negative life events and well-being levels. This study contributes to the existing literature by examining the relationships among negative life events, self-compassion, and resilience among college students who recently experienced a negative life event(s). It was hypothesized that (a) greater exposure to negative life events would be associated with reduced resilience, (b) after controlling for negative life events, self-compassion would be positively related to resiliency, and (c) self-compassion would moderate the effect of negative life events on resiliency. Participants included 228 college students aged between 18 and 21 and were recruited from a small private University in the northeastern United States. Participants completed an online survey about their demographic information, negative life events, resiliency, and self-compassion tendencies. Results of the regression analyses indicated that greater exposure to negative life events was not associated with reduced resilience. Self-compassion was significantly positively related to resiliency, after controlling for negative life events. Further, self-compassion was not found to be a significant moderator of the relationship between negative life events on resiliency. Study findings build on previous literature and contribute to our understanding of self-compassion and its relationship to resiliency among college students who have recently experienced a stressful life event. The findings in this study can help to inform professionals of a therapeutic concept that may help foster resiliency abilities in older adolescents.
Subject Area
Psychology|Experimental psychology
Recommended Citation
Polizzotto, Randi L, "Self-Compassion and Resiliency in Late Adolescence after a Negative Life Event" (2021). ETD Collection for Pace University. AAI28796989.
https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/dissertations/AAI28796989
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