Self-Compassion Mediates the Relationships Between University Students’ Mindfulness, Dysfunctional Attitudes, and Various Distress and Well-Being Indicators

Abstract

Objective. The current study intended to model the relationships between mindfulness, dysfunctional attitudes, and self-compassion in predicting university students’ various indicators of emotional distress and well-being of university students. We aimed to examine the mediative role of self-compassion and the mediative roles of self-coldness and self-warmth in these relationships. Methods. Applying a correlational design, validated instruments were used to measure mindfulness, dysfunctional attitudes, self-compassion (and its two main components: self-warmth and self-coldness), various indicators of emotional distress (i.e., negative affect, depression, anxiety, stress), and well-being (i.e., soothing positive affect, activating positive affect, satisfaction with life). The final sample consisted of N = 176 university students. The proposed models were tested by SEM (structural equation modeling) using SPSS AMOS 20. Results. The main results obtained were consistent with the hypotheses. As expected, higher levels of mindfulness led to higher well-being and lower emotional distress through increased self-compassion, and higher levels of dysfunctional attitudes led to lower well-being and higher emotional distress through decreased self-compassion. However, the results also indicated that self-coldness was more important than self-warmth in all of these relationships. Conclusion. The results of the proposed current study supported the models for the relationships between dysfunctional attitudes, mindfulness, and self-compassion (and its positive and negative components) in predicting the various indicators of emotional distress and well-being of university students. These findings support the use of self-compassion interventions, particularly those aimed at reducing self-coldness, to improve well-being and reduce distress among university students.