The Relationship between Self-compassion and Academic Achievement for Sport Science Students

Background. Self-compassion is a character trait consisting of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness that promotes adaptive cognitive, behavioral, and emotional processing it is natural, trainable and multi-faceted human capacity. Objectives. This study investigates the direct and indirect influence of self-compassion on academic performance among undergraduate sport science students at the University of Jordan. Methods. The sample consisted of 315 voluntary student participants (male: n = 171, 54.3%; female: n = 144, 45.7%). The Self-Compassion Arabic Version Scale (SCS) was used to assess self-compassion, and the University of Jordan grading system was used to evaluate academic performance, which is based on a 0–4 scale divided into 6 different marks: excellent (3.65–4), very good (3–2.64), good (2.5–2.99), fair (2–2.49), weak (< 2), and N.A. Results. The results indicated that mindfulness and the academic performance had no significant impact on self-compassion, as most participants reported moderate levels of self-compassion. However, there were significant gender differences in self-compassion between females and males, with females self-reporting higher levels overall. Students who were residents of cities also reported higher levels of self-compassion compared with those who lived in villages. Conclusion. Future research could investigate whether self-compassion enhances Academic Achievement.