Abstract
Interuniversity sports aim to foster environments where student-athletes can reach their full academic and athletic potential (USPORTS, 2023) yet introduce stressors that impact well-being and development (Sereda et al., 2021). Identifying personal resources to mitigate stressors may promote positive experiences for more student-athletes pursuing excellence in athletics, academics, and other life domains. This study explored the relationship between self-compassion and psychological flexibility (PF) and their association with student-athletes' well-being and personal development across 10 life domains and 20 life skills. Our objective was to determine the unique contribution of self-compassion to these outcomes and if PF mediates these relationships. 130 collegiate student-athletes (91 female; 39 male; Mage = 20.9 years, SD = 1.7) completed questionnaires assessing self-compassion, PF, well-being, and personal development in areas of focus and progress. Correlational analyses revealed a positive relationship between self-compassion and well-being (r = .63, p < .001) and between self-compassion and markers of personal development across various life domains (e.g., emotional, social, and psychological) and life skills (e.g., self-confidence, decision-making; rs = .17 - .36, ps < .05). Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that self-compassion explained unique variance beyond PF in well-being (10%), and personal development in the psychological (4%), emotional (3%), and community contribution domains (4%; ps < .01). Notably, we found that PF mediated the relationship between self-compassion and several personal development markers. These findings highlight the distinct yet complementary roles of self-compassion and PF, emphasizing the importance of integrating both resources into athletes' mental skills toolkits to enhance well-being and personal development.
