University of Twente Student Theses
The Link between Self-Compassion and Stress in the Daily Lives of University Students : An Observational Study using the Experiencing Sampling Methodology
Popovic, B. F. (2022) The Link between Self-Compassion and Stress in the Daily Lives of University Students : An Observational Study using the Experiencing Sampling Methodology.
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| Abstract: | The current literature demonstrates that self-compassion plays a buffering role in association with stress on a between-person level. However, momentary fluctuations naturally underlie the constructs on a within-individual level. Thus, this study aims to utilise ecological momentary assessments to inquire into momentary fluctuations of said constructs. Additionally, buffering was established as a new scale, and two items were self-constructed. Buffering was defined as the alleviation of momentary stress through momentary self-compassion. Associations between self-compassion, stress and buffering were analysed in a sample of 31 university students (M age = 21.5, SD age = 1.6, 55.2% female) by administering five daily questionnaires for seven days via the app "Ethica". The outcomes of this study illustrated a negative association between self-compassion and perceived stress on a trait level, as well as on the state level. The disaggregation of the between and within-person measurements revealed that momentary stress was weakly and negatively predicted by momentary buffering levels and not by the weekly average buffering levels (ß = -.18, p < .001, 95% CI [-0.24, -0.12]). Ambiguously, this negative association could show that self-compassion indeed buffered against state stress, but it could also mean that buffering levels went up when the experienced stress levels went down, which would disapprove of a buffering role through self-compassion against state stress. In the future, it will be vital to account for this ambiguity, for instance, by filtering out participants with low state stress levels and making the stress item more specific. Keywords: self-compassion, buffering, within-person variation, ecological momentary assessment, Experience Sampling Methodology, ESM |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology BSc (56604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/91523 |
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