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Self-compassion, psychological distress, and mental well-being in a predominantly young student sample: Cross-sectional associations and continuous interaction analysis

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  • Ying Shi
  • Zhihui Cheng

Abstract

This study examined the cross-sectional associations of self-compassion and psychological distress with mental well-being in a predominantly young student sample and tested whether self-compassion modifies the association between distress and well-being. The dual-continua framework guided the simultaneous consideration of distress and positive mental health. Participants (N = 278) completed the Self-Compassion Scale–Short Form (SCS-SF), General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), and Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS). The principal analysis used mean-centred continuous predictors in hierarchical multiple regression, followed by simple-slopes and Johnson–Neyman analyses. Heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors and sensitivity analyses were used to examine robustness. Secondary analyses comprised a median-split ANOVA examining categorical main and interaction effects and stratified Spearman correlations estimating the self-compassion–well-being association within distress groups. Higher self-compassion was associated with greater well-being, B = 0.230, 95% CI [0.126, 0.334], p

Suggested Citation

  • Ying Shi & Zhihui Cheng, 2026. "Self-compassion, psychological distress, and mental well-being in a predominantly young student sample: Cross-sectional associations and continuous interaction analysis," PLOS Mental Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 3(10), pages 1-17, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pmen00:0000653
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmen.0000653
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