Abstract

Although self-compassion is established as a buffer against psychological distress, few studies examine its protective role alongside socioeconomic discrimination. This study used hierarchical multiple regressions and a hierarchical logistic regression to examine subjective social status, downward classism, self-compassion, and internalized shame as predictors of distress, academic anxiety, and academic task choice among college students, controlling for demographic variables. Greater self-compassion predicted less internalized shame, and greater downward classism predicted greater shame and distress. Self-compassion showed only marginal protective effects against distress after accounting for other variables. Internalized shame was the strongest, most consistent predictor, robustly relating to academic anxiety and distress, while classism, subjective social status, and self-compassion did not predict academic anxiety. Neither shame nor self-compassion predicted task choice, and subjective social status was unrelated to outcomes overall. Findings highlight internalized shame as central to student well-being, with classism and self-compassion warranting continued attention.

Date of publication

Summer 2026

Document Type

Thesis

Language

english

Persistent identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10950/5107

Committee members

Olga V. Berkout Ph.D., Sarah Sass Ph.D., and Amy Hayes Ph.D.

Degree

Master of Science in Clinical Psychology

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