Self-Compassion’s Correlation with Attachment for Middle School Adolescents

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the correlation between self-compassion and attachment in adolescents. The data was collected by the authors and the students were informed about the study before proceeding to the data collection stage. In the study, the Self-Compassion Scale (Short Form) was used to measure the self-compassion levels of the students, and the Relationships Questionnaire (Adolescent Form) was used to determine the attachment styles of the students. The study group included 355 students attending the 6th, 7th and 8th grades in public secondary schools at a provincial center in Eastern Anatolia Region (Turkey) during the 2018-2019 academic year. Descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance and simple linear correlation analysis were used in data analysis. The study findings demonstrated that there were low, negative and significant correlations between self-compassion levels of the students and their obsessive attachment and fearful attachment levels. The study findings also demonstrated that there was no significant difference between self-compassion levels of the students based on gender, however there was a significant difference based on the age variable. The study findings were discussed based on the previous study reports in the literature and recommendations were presented.