Self-Compassion and Academic Performance Among College Students

Academic performance can be defined by how well a student performs, including their grades and ability to manage different challenges in college. This can be affected by several factors, including self-compassion. Self-compassion involves treating oneself with kindness and understanding rather than judgment, especially when dealing with mistakes or difficult situations. College can bring many challenges for students, and the way students treat themselves when they experience difficulties may relate to how they perform academically. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between self-compassion and academic performance among college students. Additionally, self-esteem and perceived social support may be contributing factors to academic performance. Self-compassion may be related to these factors because the way students view themselves and the support they receive from others may influence how they respond to academic challenges. Academic Performance will be assessed through students' reported academic performance and cumulative grade point average (GPA). Self-compassion will be measured through survey questions about how students respond to themselves during difficult experiences. Participants in this study will be college students from Murray State University who are recruited through SONA. The study has received approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), and data collection is currently ongoing. The survey includes questions about self-compassion, academic performance, self-esteem, and perceived social support, along with general demographic questions. Data will be analyzed to determine the association between the two. It is hypothesized that college students with higher levels of self-compassion will demonstrate higher academic performance levels. The findings may provide a better understanding of factors related to college students' academic performance. Keywords: Self-Compassion, Academic Performance, College Students, Perceived Social Support, Self-Esteem