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Review
. 2018;9(4):1011-1027.
doi: 10.1007/s12671-017-0850-7. Epub 2017 Nov 25.

Self-compassion and Psychological Distress in Adolescents-a Meta-analysis

Imogen C Marsh  1 , Stella W Y Chan  1 , Angus MacBeth  1
Affiliations
Review

Self-compassion and Psychological Distress in Adolescents-a Meta-analysis

Imogen C Marsh et al. Mindfulness (N Y). 2018.

Abstract

Research indicates that self-compassion is relevant to adolescents' psychological well-being, and may inform the development of mental health and well-being interventions for youth. This meta-analysis synthesises the existing literature to estimate the magnitude of effect for the association between self-compassion and psychological distress in adolescents. Our search identified 19 relevant studies of adolescents (10-19 years; N = 7049) for inclusion. A large effect size was found for an inverse relationship between self-compassion and psychological distress indexed by anxiety, depression, and stress (r = - 0.55; 95% CI - 0.61 to - 0.47). The identified studies were highly heterogeneous, however sensitivity analyses indicated that correction for publication bias did not significantly alter the pattern of results. These findings replicate those in adult samples, suggesting that lack of self-compassion may play a significant role in causing and/or maintaining emotional difficulties in adolescents. We conclude that self-compassion may be an important factor to target in psychological distress and well-being interventions for youth.

Keywords: Adolescence; Anxiety; Depression; Meta-analysis; Self-compassion; Stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with Ethical StandardsThis article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Systematic search and selection process (PRISMA; Moher et al. 2009)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Forest plot of initial meta-analysis of 19 studies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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