{
  "abstract": "This study examined the cross-sectional associations of self-compassion and psychological distress with mental well-being in a predominantly young student sample and tested whether self-compassion modifies the association between distress and well-being. The dual-continua framework guided the simultaneous consideration of distress and positive mental health. Participants (N = 278) completed the Self-Compassion Scale–Short Form (SCS-SF), General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), and Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS). The principal analysis used mean-centred continuous predictors in hierarchical multiple regression, followed by simple-slopes and Johnson–Neyman analyses. Heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors and sensitivity analyses were used to examine robustness. Secondary analyses comprised a median-split ANOVA examining categorical main and interaction effects and stratified Spearman correlations estimating the self-compassion–well-being association within distress groups. Higher self-compassion was associated with greater well-being, B = 0.230, 95% CI [0.126, 0.334], p < .001, whereas greater distress was associated with lower well-being, B = -1.450, 95% CI [-1.685, -1.214], p < .001. The continuous interaction was small, B = -0.028, 95% CI [-0.055, -0.001], ΔR² = .008, p = .039. The negative coefficient indicated that the positive self-compassion–well-being association weakened as distress increased and ran counter to the hypothesised protective buffering effect. The interaction was also sensitive to influential-case exclusions, alternative GHQ-12 scoring, and bootstrap estimation, while the secondary median-split ANOVA interaction was non-significant, p = .875. Higher self-compassion and lower psychological distress were independently associated with greater well-being. The small, specification-sensitive interaction provided no evidence of the hypothesised protective buffering effect. Parallel assessment of distress and well-being is warranted, while causal, clinical, and structural conclusions require longitudinal, experimental, and latent-variable research.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom",
    "STREAM Institute of Law and Psychology, Hong Kong, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
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        0
      ],
      "name": "Ying Shi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
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      "name": "Zhihui Cheng"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f4ga4a2rftm1p.bib",
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  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pmen.0000653",
  "fulltext_url": "https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000653",
  "id": "f4ga4a2rftm1p",
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  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
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      "3203|Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions"
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      "/Research and analysis methods/Mathematical and statistical techniques/Statistical methods/Metaanalysis"
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      "/Social sciences/Psychology"
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      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Clinical psychology"
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  "openalex": "W7222018139",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000653&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-15",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f4ga4a2rftm1p.ris",
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      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pmen.0000653",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000653"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "mathematics",
      "origin": "plos:statistical methods",
      "subfield": "statistics"
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    {
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      "origin": "plos:clinical psychology",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
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  "title": "Self-compassion, psychological distress, and mental well-being in a predominantly young student sample: Cross-sectional associations and continuous interaction analysis",
  "title_text": "Self-compassion, psychological distress, and mental well-being in a predominantly young student sample: Cross-sectional associations and continuous interaction analysis",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:23Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f4ga4a2rftm1p",
  "venue": "PLOS Mental Health",
  "versions": []
}