How self-compassion fosters resilience in medical sciences students: the protective power of savoring

BACKGROUND: Medical sciences students are exposed to intense academic and clinical pressures that can compromise psychological well-being. Promoting resilience in this population is crucial for mitigating the psychological impact of these demands. Self-compassion has been linked to greater resilience, yet the mechanisms underlying this relationship, particularly the role of savoring, remain underexplored. This study examined whether savoring mediates the association between self-compassion and resilience. METHODS: In this cross-sectional correlational study, 310 students from Kashan University of Medical Sciences were selected through stratified random sampling. Participants completed the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Self-Compassion Scale, and Bryant's Savoring Beliefs Inventory. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in AMOS-26. RESULTS: Self-compassion showed a significant positive association with both savoring and resilience. Savoring was also positively related to resilience. Mediation analyses indicated that savoring partially accounted for the relationship between self-compassion and resilience, supporting its role as an underlying psychological mechanism. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the potential importance of positive emotional processes in understanding resilience among medical sciences students. Interventions that simultaneously strengthen self-compassion and savoring may enhance adaptive functioning in this population.