Date of Award

6-2019

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Joseph, Rigaud

Abstract

Graduate students are often exposed to many stressors during their rigorous academic programs which may impact their overall well-being. Researchers have long believed that self-compassion can be used as an emotion-regulated strategy to cope with stress. The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to examine the relationship between self-compassion levels and coping mechanisms for stress among graduate social work students. Data were collected from 97 graduate social work students in a Hispanic-serving university in Southern California (N =97). Using non-parametric techniques, the Kruskal-Wallis Test and the Mann-Whitney Test, this study analyzed the correlation between self-compassion and coping mechanisms for stress, while separately controlling for demographic variables. Results showed a statistically significant correlation between self-compassion level and coping mechanisms (p < .001). The magnitude of this correlation was strong (η2 = .18). Implications of these findings for social work practice were discussed.

Included in

Social Work Commons

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