Emerging Male Adults’ Experiences of Self-Compassion in Response to Failure

• Author / Creator

  Brittany Gagne

• Recent research has highlighted the potential benefits of self-compassion on psychological well-being (Neff, Rude, & Kirkpatrick, 2007; Neely Shallert, Mohammed, Roberts, & Chen, 2009). Despite the growing research support for self­compassion, there has been little exploration of self­compassion in emerging adulthood, which is a period in life that is rife with stressors and feelings of failure (Arnett, 2000). Considering the negative impact that experiences of failure can have on well-being (Zhang, Kong, Goa, & Li, 2013) and that self-compassion may act as a buffer against these mental health concerns, the purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of self-compassion among male emerging adults through an in-depth exploration. Seven male emerging adults were interviewed about their conceptualizations and experiences of self-compassion in response to instances of perceived failing. Responses were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for common themes using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Based on participants’ descriptions of self-compassion in response to failure, five themes were developed: taking charge of the situation, accepting and moving on, connecting to others, practicing self-care, and continuing exploration. These findings may contribute to self-compassion research by developing an understanding of self-compassion from the emerging male adult perspective. Findings are contextualized within the existing literature, and implications for counselling practitioners as well as directions for future research are discussed.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • experiences
  • emerging adult
  • failure
  • self-compassion

• Graduation date

  Fall 2018

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Education

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3QJ78D9K

• License

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