The effect of psychological flexibility, self-compassion, and mindfulness on mental health among university students
Frontiers in Psychology, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1757032
- Dergi Adı: Frontiers in Psychology
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Linguistic Bibliography, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo, Directory of Open Access Journals, MLA International Bibliography
- Anahtar Kelimeler: mental health, mindfulness, psychological flexibility, self-compassion, university students
- İstanbul Gelişim Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
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.