Cultivating Adolescents’ Self-Compassion Through Mindfulness: The Role of Self-Regulation at Both the Individual- and Classroom-Level
Rachel A. Razza, Qingyang Liu, Ruohan Feng, Xin Hao, Kaylynn Alexa Kirkman, Gabriel J. Merrin
Contemporary School Psychology May 21, 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s40688-025-00548-5 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pre-post intervention study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2,121 |
| Population | Adolescents from six high schools in the Philadelphia City School District |
| Intervention | Inner Strength Education Teen Program |
| Duration | 12-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Self-compassion Educational psychology Self-control Developmental psychology Emotional regulation Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | The effect of a 12-week school-based mindfulness program on self-compassion was stronger for classrooms with lower average levels of self-regulation at pretest compared to classrooms with higher average self-regulation. |
Abstract
Abstract School-based mindfulness programs help students manage stress and promote well-being. These programs largely reflect a developmental psychological mindfulness framework that posits that intrinsic states of mindfulness and basic compassion can be cultivated into traits through socialization and training. Yet less is known about how program effects vary depending on individual and classroom differences in key mindfulness-related constructs. This study intended to examine how initial individual and class-level self-regulation impacted the effect of the program on adolescents’ self-compassion. Participants included students from the Inner Strength Education Teen Program (N = 2,121), representing 97 classrooms from six high schools within the Philadelphia City School District. Students participated in a 12-week school-based mindfulness intervention program and completed the Self-compassion Scale-Short Form and the Adolescent Self-Regulation Inventory at pretest (T1) and posttest (T2). After controlling gender and initial self-compassion, at the individual-level, between-person T1 self-regulation significantly predicted individual-level growth in T2 self-compassion. At the classroom-level, T2 self-compassion changed less for students in classrooms with higher average levels of self-regulation at T1 compared to their peers in classrooms with lower average levels of self-regulation at T1. That is, the effect of the program was stronger for classrooms with lower levels of self-regulation at T1. These findings provide evidence that self-regulation at both the individual and classroom levels contributes to heterogeneity in the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based program in promoting self-compassion among adolescents.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cites 15
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Beyond the individual: Group effects in mindfulness-based stress reduction Psychotherapy Research September 12, 2008
- Beyond All Splits: Envisioning the Next Generation of Science on Mindfulness and Compassion in Schools for Students. Mindfulness November 11, 2022
- Mindfulness and Other Simple Neuroscience-Based Proposals to Promote the Learning Performance and Mental Health of Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic Brain Sciences April 27, 2021
- Self-regulation mediates effects of adapted mindfulness-based stress reduction on anxiety among college students. Journal of American College Health December 2024
and 10 more in the library