Citation

Quinlan HM, Hadden KL, Storey DP. Youth Soc. 2022; 54(5): 890-906.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0044118X211002857

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to explore whether selfcompassion predicted psychological distress over and above childhood maltreatment and attachment orientation in high-risk youths. Fifty-one youths (31 males, 20 females) aged 17 to 24, recruited from a community non-profit organization in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, were administered validated measures of childhood maltreatment, attachment orientation, self-compassion, and psychological distress.

RESULTS indicated that self-compassion was inversely associated with childhood maltreatment, attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and psychological distress. However, results did not support the hypothesis that self-compassion was a significant predictor of psychological distress over and above attachment anxiety and childhood maltreatment in high-risk youths. Our results indicated that self-compassion is not well developed in street-involved youths and may be a vital intervention target to heal negative internalized views of the self, while maintaining vigilance to threats inherent in the street environment.

Language: en

Keywords

alcohol and drug use/abuse/addiction; anxiety; attachment; hierarchical modeling; homelessness; mental health; poverty/disadvantage; quantitative methods; resiliency; socioeconomic status/social class; stress