Self-compassion, Self-esteem and Test-anxiety Among Students Preparing for the University Admission Exam

<i>Introduction: </i>There is a paucity of information on the contribution of self-compassion and self-esteem to strategies used to cope with anxiety difficulties in times of distress, such as preparing for university entrance examinations for students in Greece. This study applied tests to better understand adolescents’ views on their motivations to participate in the nationwide examinations for entrance into Greece's state universities, their coping strategies during their preparation, and their reaction to a potential failure. It was expected that students’ anxiety would be related to self-compassion and self-esteem regarding their gender. <i>Methods: </i>This cross-sectional, mixed methods study was based on statistical and thematic analysis conducted on data consisting of the information respondents were asked to provide regarding their studies (favorite lesson, where they like to study, orientation, and first time participation in exams) and their attitudes towards the exams. One hundred thirty-two (132) High School senior students participating in the Pan-Hellenic Examinations (81 females and 51 males) (<I>M </I>= 3.11,<i> SD </i>= 0.76), aged from 17 to 18 years old, where volunteered for the present study. <i>Results: </i>Most of the participants (75%) believe that they are going to succeed in the exams and showed greater test-anxiety (t = 2.580, df = 129, p =.011), but also greater self-esteem (t = 4.106, df = 129, p = .001), greater self-compassion (t = 3.013, df = 129, p =.003), greater self-kindness, (t = 2.299, df=129, p = .000), greater common humanity (t = 2.416, df = 129, p = .017), and greater mindfulness (t = 2.466, df = 129, p = .015), than participants who answered that they are not going to succeed. Those who predicted their failure showed greater self-judgment (with no statistical significance, (p>0.005), greater isolation (t = -2.713, df = 129, p =.032), and greater over-identification (t = -2.013, df = 129, p = .046) than their counterparts. Overall, male participants (M=3.4, SD= .74) exhibited higher test-anxiety scores than female participants (M=2.93, SD= .74). <i>Conclusions: </i>Gender differences significantly influence self-compassion and self-esteem having a vast impact on anxiety.