The study investigated the relationships between different aspects of self-compassion in adolescents and whether there are differences in these interactions between boys and girls. Self-compassion is acknowledging that everyone has similar experiences, treating oneself with kindness, and practicing mindfulness when facing challenges. With an emphasis on gender differences specifically, the research sought to explore how these elements relate to one another and how they affect adolescent’s feelings of isolation and self-criticism.
The results showed a significant connection between the components of self-compassion. It has been discovered that positive characteristics like self-kindness and mindfulness balance out negative characteristics like self-judgment and over-identification with negative ideas. This implies that adolescents can regulate their inner critic and loneliness by practicing mindfulness and nurturing kindness. The report also emphasized significant gender disparities. Self-kindness was especially successful in lowering boys’ feelings of loneliness and self-judgment. In the meantime, girls’ negative self-reactions were effectively managed by practicing both self-kindness and mindfulness, which in turn decreased feelings of over-identification and loneliness.
Interestingly, the study discovered unanticipated outcomes from the idea of common humanity—believing that all people endure the same problems in life. Common humanity was connected with higher levels of self-judgment in guys and elevated emotions of alienation and over-identification in girls. This research implies that adolescents still forming their sense of self may find it difficult to recognize shared human experiences.
These findings are significant because they indicate that, although gender-specific adjustments may be necessary, self-compassion can be an effective strategy for promoting adolescents’ emotional well-being. To promote healthy self-perceptions and emotional resilience in adolescents, focused interventions can be developed with an understanding of the differences between the experiences of boys and girls with self-compassion. This study highlights how crucial it is to teach self-compassion to young people to promote mental health and overall well-being.