Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr 2;10(4):676.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare10040676.

Mental Health of Czech University Psychology Students: Negative Mental Health Attitudes, Mental Health Shame and Self-Compassion

Yasuhiro Kotera  1 , Denise Andrzejewski  2 , Jaroslava Dosedlova  3 , Elaina Taylor  4 , Ann-Marie Edwards  4 , Chris Blackmore  5
Affiliations

Mental Health of Czech University Psychology Students: Negative Mental Health Attitudes, Mental Health Shame and Self-Compassion

Yasuhiro Kotera et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

High rates of mental health problems are a growing concern in Czech higher education, negatively impacting students' performance and wellbeing. Despite the serious nature of poor mental health, students often do not seek help because of negative attitudes and shame over mental health problems. Recent mental health research reports self-compassion is strongly associated with better mental health and reduced shame. However, relationships between those constructs remain to be evaluated among Czech students. This study aims to appraise the relationships between mental health problems, negative mental health attitudes, mental health shame, and self-compassion in this population. An opportunity sample of 119 psychology students from a Czech university completed questionnaires regarding these constructs. Correlation, regression, and path analyses were conducted. Mental health problems were positively associated with negative mental health attitudes and shame, and negatively associated with self-compassion. Self-compassion negatively predicted mental health problems, while negative attitudes and shame did not. Last, self-compassion fully mediated the negative attitudes-mental health problems relationship, and partially mediated the shame-mental health problems relationship. Findings suggest self-compassion is essential for mental health in Czech students and associated with negative mental health attitudes and mental health shame. Czech universities can benefit from incorporating self-compassion training into their curricula to protect students' mental health.

Keywords: Czech university students; mental health; mental health attitudes; mental health shame; self-compassion.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Parallel Mediation Model: Negative Mental Health Attitudes as a predictor of Mental Health Problems, mediated by Self-Compassion. Note: The confidence interval for the indirect effect is a BCa bootstrapped CI based on 5000 samples. Direct effect (total effect). Values attached to arrows are coefficients indicating impacts. ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Parallel Mediation Model: Mental Health Shame as a predictor of Mental Health Problems, mediated by Self-Compassion. Note: The confidence interval for the indirect effect is a BCa bootstrapped CI based on 5000 samples. Direct effect (total effect). Values attached to arrows are coefficients indicating impacts. * p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Raikhel E., Bemme D. Postsocialism, the Psy-Ences and Mental Health. Transcult. Psychiatry. 2016;53:151–175. doi: 10.1177/1363461516635534. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Skultans V. From Damaged Nerves to Masked Depression: Inevitability and Hope in Latvian Psychiatric Narratives. Soc. Sci. Med. 2003;56:2421–2431. doi: 10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00245-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Skultans V. The Appropriation of Suffering: Psychiatric Practice in the Post-Soviet Clinic. Theory Cult. Soc. 2007;24:27–48. doi: 10.1177/0263276407077625. - DOI
    1. Formánek T., Kagström A., Cermakova P., Csémy L., Mladá K., Winkler P. Prevalence of Mental Disorders and Associated Disability: Results from the Cross-Sectional CZEch Mental Health Study (CZEMS) Eur. Psychiatry. 2019;60:1–6. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2019.05.001. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wittchen H.U., Jacobi F., Rehm J., Gustavsson A., Svensson M., Jönsson B., Olesen J., Allgulander C., Alonso J., Faravelli C., et al. The Size and Burden of Mental Disorders and Other Disorders of the Brain in Europe 2010. Eur. Neuropsychopharmacol. 2011;21:655–679. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2011.07.018. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources