Objective: The present study examined the relationship between self-compassion and mental health, and examined the predictive role of self-compassion in mental health in Naresuan University students.

Materials and Methods: A total of 390 undergraduate students participated in the present study. Three research instruments used in the present study included demographic characteristic questionnaires, the self-compassion scale [SCS], and Thai mental health questionnaires [TMHQ].

Results: The overall results showed that the majority of students had self-compassion at a moderate level (62.8%), followed by a high level (36.7%), and a low level (0.5%). From the research findings, the sample students tended to be at risk of having mental health problems, including social functioning deficits (0.8%), psychosis (5.6%), depression (12.1%), anxiety (22.8%), and somatization disorders (24.1%). In correlation analysis, self-compassion was found to be negatively correlated with mental health problems (r = -0.41 to -0.57, p<0.01). Moreover, the findings indicated that mental health problems were negatively predicted by self-compassion at 17.1% to 32.1%.

Conclusion: The study showed that self-compassion could be highly beneficial for protecting the individual against mental health problems. Therefore, it is advisable to teach self-compassion to undergraduate students.

Keywords: Relationships, Self-compassion, Mental health