Self-compassion, Positive and Negative Affect and Social Avoidance among Adolescence: Mediating Role of Mindfulness.
M S Sujamani, Barani Kanth
Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH 2023 DOI: 10.2174/0117450179268979231114045116 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Survey research design Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 821 |
| Population | Female first-year undergraduate students aged 17 to 19 |
| Measures | Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, short form of the Self-Compassion Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Scale |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Adolescence Negative affect Positive affect Self-compassion Social anxiety |
| Key findings | The authors report that mindfulness weakens social fear and reduces social avoidance, and that it mediates the relationship between self-compassion, positive and negative affect, and social fear. Mindfulness and social fear together are said to mediate the effects of self-compassion and affect on social avoidance. |
Abstract
Mindfulness is an attribute of consciousness to manage social fear avoidance and promote well-being. Social anxiety is a common psychological experience noted among the general population. Social anxiety develops during adolescence and is prevalent among college students. This study investigates the factors contributing to social anxiety - fear and avoidance of social situations of female first-year undergraduates. The study used a survey research design. A sample of 821 first-year female undergraduate students aged between 17 and 19. Data were collected using the Liebowitz Social anxiety scale, the Five-Facet mindfulness questionnaire, A short form of the Self-compassion scale, and the Positive and Negative affect scale. Mindfulness weakens social fear and reduces the tendency to avoid social situations. Mindfulness effectively mediates the impact of self-compassion's positive affect and negative effects on social fear. Mindfulness and social fear jointly mediate the impact of self-compassion, positive affect, and negative affect on social avoidance. Mindfulness is the awareness and acceptance of the feelings, thoughts and sensations attached to self and its possible reciprocity with social surroundings to mitigate fear-self-compassion and positive emotional affect augment, and negative emotional affect attenuate mindfulness. Results analysis highlights the mediation of mindfulness on social anxiety, self-compassion, positive affect, and negative affect.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Positive Affect as a Transdiagnostic Target for Reducing Adolescent Depression & Suicide Risk: Do Mindfulness, Savoring, & Gratitude Help? Journal des adolescens June 3, 2026
- Self-compassion and mindfulness in relation to mind wandering: indirect associations mediated by negative affect. Frontiers in Psychology December 11, 2025