Graduation Year
2022
Degree Type
Open Access Capstone
Document Type
Capstone
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Molly J. Bradshaw
Department Affiliation
Nursing
Second Advisor
Keri New
Department Affiliation
Nursing
Abstract
University students are reporting increased levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Trends for mental health distress among this population have been increasing over the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this trend. It is important to provide college-age students with the knowledge and skills for self-compassion necessary to navigate the difficult transition from high school to university. Self-compassion skills have been shown to positively affect mental health outcomes, specifically anxiety and depression. A brief, two-part intervention was developed focusing on the major components of self-compassion and offered to university students over a two-week period. Results of the intervention did not show a significant increase in self-compassion, self-kindness, common humanity or mindfulness among participants. Similarly, there was no significant decrease in student’s self-judgment, isolation or over-identification. Further study is needed to inform future self-compassion interventions in this population.
Copyright
2022 David L. Coffey
Recommended Citation
Coffey, David, "A Self-Compassion Intervention for University Students: A DNP Project" (2022). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 74.
https://encompass.eku.edu/dnpcapstones/74
IRB Approval Number (if applicable)
4540
