Roles of positive psychology for mental health in UK social work students: self-compassion as a predictor of better mental health
Journal article
Authors | Kotera, Y., Green, Pauline and Sheffield, David |
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Abstract | Despite high shame about mental health symptoms among UK social work students, positive psychological approaches to their mental health have not been investigated in depth. Emotional resilience has been a core skill in social work practice, however its relationship with mental health is still unclear. Therefore, the primary purposes of this cross-sectional study were to (i) examine the relationships between mental health and positive psychological constructs, namely resilience, self-compassion, motivation, and engagement, and (ii) determine predictors of mental health in UK social work students. An opportunity sampling of 116 UK social work students (102 females, 14 males; 96 undergraduates, 20 postgraduates) completed five measures about these constructs. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted. Mental health was associated with resilience, self-compassion, and engagement. Self-compassion was a negative predictor, and intrinsic motivation was a positive predictor of mental health symptoms. Resilience did not predict mental health symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of self-compassion to the challenging mental health of UK social work students; they caution against the overuse and misunderstanding of resilience in the social work field. |
Keywords | social work education; mental health; resilience; self-compassion; positive psychology |
Year | 2019 |
Journal | British Journal of Social Work |
Publisher | Oxford Academic |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcz149 |
Web address (URL) | http://hdl.handle.net/10545/624322 |
hdl:10545/624322 | |
Publication dates | 29 Nov 2019 |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 05 Dec 2019, 16:30 |
Accepted | 01 Nov 2019 |
Contributors | University of Derby |
File | File Access Level Open |
File |
https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/9495x/roles-of-positive-psychology-for-mental-health-in-uk-social-work-students-self-compassion-as-a-predictor-of-better-mental-health
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