Sociodemographic and psychosocial correlates of self-compassion in adolescents with physical health conditions.

BACKGROUND

Adolescents with physical health conditions (PHCs) face the dual demands of both normative developmental and disease-related burdens. Self-compassion (SC) represents a potentially important resource, yet little is known about its correlates. This study investigated sociodemographic, health-related, and interpersonal predictors of compassionate self-responding (CS) and uncompassionate self-responding (UCS) among adolescents with PHCs.

METHODS

In total, 498 adolescents (ages 12–21) with type 1 diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis completed measures of SC, depression, anxiety, disease severity and duration, parental support, peer group integration, and seeking social support. Hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted separately for CS and UCS. Predictors were entered as follows: (1) sociodemographic variables, (2) health-related factors, and (3) social resources.

RESULTS

CS was primarily explained by social resources, namely parental support, peer integration, and seeking social support. In contrast, UCS was explained by depression, anxiety, and disease severity, alongside lower parental and peer support. The final hierarchical regression models accounted for 27.8% of the variance in CS and 42.9% in UCS.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings reveal two distinct pathways that should be considered in future practice: Results for UCS emphasize the need for early identification and targeted intervention, whereas strengthening supportive interpersonal contexts seems crucial with respect to CS.