Abstract
This qualitative study investigated ways in which student participants in a three-session self-compassion course became more compassionate toward themselves and challenges related to this change. Ninety-four participants completed an online survey and 12 participants were interviewed face-to-face. First, a thematic analysis of the responses from the online survey was conducted, and then sorted by frequency, indicating their representativeness in the written responses. The following themes were identified: (1) being more supportive and friendlier toward self, (2) being more aware of being too hard on oneself, (3) feeling less alone when having painful feelings, (4) having more acceptance of painful feelings, and (5) feeling more stable and peaceful. These five most frequent themes served as a basis for a structured phenomenological analysis in the next analytic stage. They were used as a template for a content analysis of the interview material. Subsequently, a phenomenological analysis was conducted on the interview transcripts covering the five thematic areas.
Highlights
Student life is associated with a multitude of pressures
In a multimethod project, including a quantitative multi-baseline randomized controlled trial (RCT), we reported the effects of a three-session self-compassion course on healthy and unhealthy self-regulation and symptoms of anxiety and depression in university students
We explore the following research questions: what do the students describe, in their own words, as the most important outcome after participating in a brief group-based self-compassion intervention? In what ways did the students become more compassionate toward themselves? What was it about the intervention that contributed to such an outcome?
Summary
Students often alternate between academic ambition and fear of failure. They must often cope with challenges connected to identity development, establish new relationships and find a healthy balance between work and leisure time. Existing research indicates that the prevalence of stress is increasing among students in higher education (Robotham and Julian, 2006). A growing body of research indicates a high prevalence of mental health problems among students in higher education, and indicates that these problems may be growing both in number and severity
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