Exploring the Relationship between Self-Compassion and Perceived Stress: A Quantitative Study among College Students

Abstract

College students are disproportionately vulnerable to elevated levels of perceived stress, which can have deleterious consequences on their mental health, academic achievement, and overall wellbeing. The prevalence of stress among college students necessitates the identification of effective coping strategies. Coping strategies refer to the thoughts and actions that help individuals handle the internal and external pressures of a stressful situation (Stephenson & DeLongis, 2020).  Students from Superior College M.B.D in Punjab, Pakistan formed the sample size of N =100. Data collection used the correlational design with purposive sampling as the method. The research employed the Perceived Stress Scale developed by Cohen et al. (1983) together with the Self-Compassion Scale by Kristin D. Neff (2003). The analysis demonstrated that both research variables showed their predicted relationships and every dimension of self-compassion served to decrease the connection between perceived stress and self-compassion. The research examined exclusively students from college. Additional research must use participants from various backgrounds along with developing stress management programs which assist students in learning stress control techniques.