The effect of psychological flexibility, self-compassion, and mindfulness on mental health among university students

Background Although studies have been conducted on psychological flexibility, self-compassion and mindfulness, the effects of these factors on the mental health of university students have not yet been sufficiently researched. Objective This study seeks to investigate the effects of psychological flexibility, self-compassion, and mindfulness on mental health among university students in Türkiye. Methods The data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0, AMOS, and the Hayes PROCESS macro. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations were first calculated. The hypothesized relationships were tested using Hayes PROCESS Model 4 multiple mediation analysis with 5,000 bootstrap samples to estimate direct and indirect effects. Results The results revealed a high and positive correlation between psychological flexibility (pf) and mindfulness (m) (ρ = 0.712, p < 0.01). Pf was also shown to have strong and significant correlations with self-compassion (s) (ρ =0.762, p < 0.01) and mental health (mh) (ρ = 0.668, p < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant direct relationship between mental health and psychological flexibility ( b = 0.1769, se = 0.0536, p < 0.001). Conclusions The study demonstrate that psychological flexibility has a significant and complex impact on college students' mental health. People are better at handling stress, more self-compassionate, and more attentive, as seen by the strong and favorable correlations between psychological flexibility, mindfulness, self-compassion, and mental health.