Psychological Resilience, Perceived Social Support and Self-Compassion among Adolescents

Abstract

Self-compassion is an important resource for adolescents, yet little is known about how it related to psychological resilience and perceived social support. This correlational study examined the relationships among these variables. A total of 250 students, aged 16-19 years (M=17.07, SD=.80), consisting of both genders (boys=52% and girls=48%) were recruited through convenience sampling technique. Adolescent Resilience Scale (ARS; Oshio et al., 2003), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS; Zimet et al., 1988), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS; Neff, 2003), and a demographic information sheet were used to collect data. Findings indicated a positive association between psychological resilience and perceived social support (p<.05), psychological resilience and self-compassion (p<.01), and perceived social support and self-compassion (p<.01). Multiple regression analysis indicated that psychological resilience (p<.001) and perceived social support (p=.011) are significant predictors of self-compassion, together explaining 9% of the variance in self-compassion. No significant differences were found based on family headship or socioeconomic status. These findings suggest that strengthening resilience and supportive relationships may help adolescents develop greater self-compassion.

Keywords: psychological resilience, perceived social support, self-compassion, adolescents