The Association between Self-Compassion and Academic Well-Being with the Mediating Role of Perceived Academic Stress and Academic Optimism in Female Students

Background: Academic well-being is among the most recent concepts of positive psychology, which greatly contributes to the students’ sense of security and health in the academic setting and improves their academic performance. The study aimed to investigate the association between self-compassion and academic well-being with the mediating role of perceived academic stress and academic optimism in female students in Kermanshah, Iran. Methods: The study was a descriptive correlation. The statistical population comprised all the female high-school students in Kermanshah in the academic year 2020-2021. Through the use of stratified random sampling method, 226 of the female students were selected as the sample. The research tools included the Academic Well-Being Scale, the Self-Compassion Scale, the Academic Stress Questionnaire, and the Life Orientation Test. The path analysis method was used to investigate the proposed model. Results: The results showed that there was a direct and crucial association between self-compassion and academic optimism (p <0.001), and between academic optimism and academic well-being (p <0.001). Moreover, there was a negative association between self-compassion and perceived academic stress (p <0.001), and between perceived academic stress and academic well-being (p <0.001). There was no significant relationship between self-compassion and academic well-being (P= 0.381). The path analysis results indicated that the perceived academic stress and academic optimism had a mediating role in the association of self-compassion with academic well-being (p <0.001). Conclusion: The proposed model had a good fit. Consequently, improving self -compassion and academic optimism could improve the academic well-being of female students.