Stress and Coping with a Professional Challenge in Entering Masters of Social Work Students: The Role of Self-Compassion

摘要

The study examined the role of religiosity, spirituality, and self-compassion in responding to a professional stressor among first year masters of social work students. A total of 66 entering students from two masters of social work programs in the western United States participated in a paper-pencil survey. While religiosity and spirituality did not influence the stress and coping process, self-compassion did. In particular, multivariate analyses showed that overidentification, a negative component of self-compassion, was associated with increased stress, while common humanity, a positive component of self-compassion, was associated with effective coping. Implications of study findings for social work education are discussed.