Content area
Aim
This scoping review aimed to map and synthesise evidence on the characteristics, delivery formats and outcomes of self-compassion interventions targeting nursing students.
Background
Self-compassion interventions have been increasingly acknowledged as valuable strategies for enhancing psychological well-being and resilience among nursing students, a population consistently identified in the literature as being highly vulnerable to stress and burnout.
Design
A scoping review using Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines.
Methods
We conducted this scoping review using a systematic search, screening process and eligibility criteria following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. We extracted the data independently and analysed it through a narrative synthesis approach.
Results
A total of 12 articles were included in the final review; most studies reported significant improvements in self-compassion, mindfulness, resilience, along with reductions in stress, burnout, anxiety, self-judgement and feelings of isolation. Interventions grounded in the mindful self-compassion framework, delivered over eight or more sessions totaling at least 12 h, were associated with the most robust and sustained outcomes.
Conclusion
Self-compassion interventions have shown strong potential for supporting the mental health and well-being of nursing students. However, significant gaps remain, including limited attention to cultural relevance, diversity at educational levels and representation in low- and middle-income regions. Future research should prioritise the development and evaluation of culturally appropriate self-compassion interventions in low- and middle-income settings and across levels of nursing education. Integrating self-compassion training in nursing curricula has the potential to enhance mental health, foster resilience and prepare nursing students for the psychological demands of their training and future professional roles.
1 Introduction
Recently, self-compassion has gained increasing attention in psychological and health research due to its potential benefits for mental health ( Crego et al., 2022; Kriakous et al., 2021), particularly among student populations ( Hamdy Ali El Zeny et al., 2019; Luo et al., 2019). Neff (2003) defines Self-compassion as treating oneself with kindness during moments of suffering or failure. It consists of three core components: self-kindness (rather than self-judgment), mindfulness (rather than over-identification with negative thoughts) and a sense of shared humanity rather than isolation. These elements work together to foster emotional balance, resilience and well-being, especially in high-stress situations ( Neff, 2023). While compassion involves a warm, caring response to others' suffering that motivates a desire to help ( Goetz et al., 2010), self-compassion directs this same care inward. It offers support, understanding and acceptance instead of harsh self-criticism when facing personal pain, failure, or inadequacy. Neff (2023) emphasize that self-compassion mitigates the effects of perfectionism and promotes a more balanced, non-judgmental perspective on personal struggles. Empirical studies support the role of self-compassion in promoting adaptive coping strategies and reducing maladaptive responses to stress ( Ewert et al., 2021). It is associated with self-respect, emotional intelligence and wisdom ( Neff et al., 2007; Şenyuva et al., 2013), qualities that are crucial for nursing students preparing to enter challenging and emotionally demanding healthcare settings, where many often feel unappreciated and disrespected ( Almost and Mildon, 2022). Self-compassion interventions, often incorporating mindfulness practices, have been shown to reduce procrastination ( Jummei and Yong, 2023), decrease stress, improve resilience and enhance psychological well-being ( Fong and Loi, 2016; Hamdy Ali El Zeny et al., 2019; Luo et al., 2019). The intervention’s effect is important not only for students' personal benefit but also for preparing them for future professional practice, while acknowledging the increasing global interest in the mental health and resilience of nursing students, which aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2021), especially SDG 3 (good health and well-being) and SDG 4 (quality education). A recent meta-analytic review found significant improvements in self-compassion among healthcare professionals after the interventions with a notable effect size ( Alcaraz-Córdoba et al., 2024). While evidence supports the benefits of self-compassion among healthcare professionals as well as clinical and non-clinical populations ( Inuwa et al., 2024; Neff et al., 2020; Ferrari et al., 2019); there is a lack of systematic review, especially addressing self-compassion interventions among nursing students. The existing reviews focused on mindfulness-based interventions among healthcare professionals ( Kriakous et al., 2021; Ong et al., 2024) or general university students ( Póka et al., 2023) rather than nursing students. An integrative review by Hagerman et al. (2020) highlighted self-compassion in undergraduate nursing education. However, most of the included studies were non-interventional; among the few interventional studies in the reviewed articles, none focused on self-compassion intervention among nursing students. Similarly, a recent scoping review of self-compassion interventions among nurses found that programmes vary widely in content, delivery format, outcome measures and research quality, which hinders the generalisability of findings ( Bian et al., 2025). The identified research gaps highlight the necessity for a comprehensive understanding of the nature and scope of self-compassion interventions specifically designed for nursing students. Addressing this gap will strengthen the evidence base for integrating such interventions into nursing education curricula. Ultimately, the findings will enrich the existing literature and support the evidence-informed decisions in curriculum design, mental health support services and nursing education policy.
2 Purpose and questions
This scoping review aims to systematically map the existing literature on self-compassion interventions for nursing students. Specifically, it will summarize the intervention content, delivery formats and measured outcomes to identify research gaps and guide the development of future interventions tailored to this population. The following review questions were addressed:
What are the characteristics of studies that have implemented self-compassion intervention training for nursing students?
What are the key components and theoretical frameworks of self-compassion intervention training programs designed for nursing students?
What are the delivery methods and formats used in self-compassion intervention training for nursing students?
How have self-compassion interventions for nursing students been measured, assessed for effectiveness and linked to other psychological constructs?
3 Methods
3.1 Design
We conducted the scoping review according to the methodological framework developed by
Arksey and O’Malley (2005), Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review (
Peters et al., 2020) guidance/template for scoping review (
Lely et al., 2023) and we reported the results following the PRISMA-ScR Extension for Scoping Reviews (
Tricco et al., 2018). Before initiating the review, we searched the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and JBI Evidence Synthesis to ensure the absence of any recent, ongoing, or completed systematic or scoping reviews on the topic; we registered the review with the Open Science Framework (
3.2 Eligibility criteria
We developed the inclusion and exclusion criteria for this scoping review using the population, concept and context (PCC) framework recommendations ( Peters et al., 2022). The population encompassed nursing students who received self-compassion intervention (concept) in nursing education and training settings (context). We included only studies that implemented self-compassion interventions as RCTs or quasi-experimental studies and research papers that were published from 2010 to 2025 in English. We excluded reviews, editorials, correspondences, books and conference abstracts. Qualitative studies were also excluded because the aim of the review was to synthesise evidence on the effect of self-compassion interventions, which can be captured through RCTs and quasi-experimental studies.
3.3 Identifying relevant records & search strategy
We conducted a search validation procedure and the final search strategy in consultation with a librarian experienced in scoping and systematic reviews. To enhance reliability, the strategy underwent peer review in accordance with the peer review of Electronic Search Strategies (PRESS) guidelines. We also include an extra validation step by identifying key studies known to meet the inclusion criteria for self-compassion training in nursing students and verifying whether the final search strategy successfully retrieved these studies. These procedures ensured that the search approach was both comprehensive and aligned with best practices for scoping reviews. We developed full search strategies for EBSCO (CINAHL Plus), PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science (ProQuest), Wiley Online (COCHRANE), ScienceDirect (Elsevier) and Scopus (Elsevier) (See Supplemental File 1: Full search strategy); and completed all database searches in May 2025. To capture relevant grey literature and enhance comprehensiveness, we also searched Google Scholar, conducted key author searches and screened reference lists of included articles for additional sources.
3.4 Study screening and selection
Following the search, we imported all retrieved records into Rayyan (
Ouzzani et al., 2016) reference management software for systematic review and duplicates were identified and removed. The remaining records underwent a two-stage screening process based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. In the first stage, two reviewers independently screened the titles and abstracts for potential eligibility. We retrieved records deemed relevant for full-text screening, conducted full-text screening independently and resolved disagreements through discussion. To reduce the risk of bias, we implemented a blinded screening procedure. Although the titles and abstracts were visible to the screeners, the names of authors and institutional affiliations remained hidden during screening; this approach helped decrease the influence of perceived author expertise or institutional prestige on reviewer judgment. We conducted the entire screening and selection process according to the PRISMA-ScR guidelines and we presented the flow diagram illustrating the number of records identified, screened, excluded and included in
3.5 Quality assessment of included studies
In line with the JBI scoping review methodology, we did not conduct a quality assessment of the studies included in the scoping review, as the primary aim is to map and synthesise the available evidence rather than to evaluate the methodological quality ( Peters et al., 2020).
3.6 Data extraction and charting
Two reviewers independently extracted data from all included studies using a standard and pilot-tested data extraction form (Supplementary File 2: Data Extraction Form) developed for this review and implemented a pilot extraction on four articles employing different study designs (RCT/Quasi-experimental). We refined the extraction tool based on the pilot phase to ensure consistency in capturing relevant data. Key study characteristics and extracted findings are presented in tables, accompanied by a narrative synthesis and summary of findings.
4 Results
4.1 Characteristics of the included Studies (n = 12)
In this scoping review, we retrieved a total of 412 articles from various databases as illustrated in Fig. 1: PRISMA-ScR diagram ( Haddaway et al., 2022); after removing 161 duplicates, 255 articles remained for further screening. The reviewers then screened the titles/ abstracts and excluded an additional 243 articles. We conducted a full-text review of the remaining articles, resulting in the exclusion of two more articles due to wrong publication and wrong design. Additionally, we included two more articles through citation tracking of articles already included in the review; consequently, we included a total of 12 articles in the final reviews. The studies were published between 2019 and 2025 and conducted across various countries, reflecting a balanced spread between Eastern (Iran, Japan, Hong Kong and China) and Western regions (USA, Canada and Chile) and a transcontinental country (Turkey). Most studies (n = 8) employed RCT designs, whereas the remaining studies employed quasi-experimental pre- and post-designs ( Erkin and Şenuzun Aykar., 2020; Wang et al., 2022; Gutiérrez-Carmona et al., 2024; Donovan et al., 2021).
The sample sizes in the included studies ranged from 23 participants ( Wang et al., 2022) to 189 participants ( Joseph and Raque, 2023). The participants were predominantly undergraduate nursing students, with two studies additionally including diploma nursing students ( Tung, 2019; Joseph and Raque, 2023). Participants were from different years in the university or college, including first-year students ( Erkin and Şenuzun Aykar., 2020); second-year students ( Yang et al., 2024; Bidik and Sisman, 2024; Gutiérrez-Carmona et al., 2024); third- and fourth-year students ( Durant et al., 2024; Kurebayashi, 2020; Moeini et al., 2019; Tung, 2019); and some from various years or not specified ( Joseph and Raque, 2023; Wang et al., 2022).
The average age of participants in the studies was 18.0 and 29.8 years, with most studies reporting average ages in the early twenties (19.3 years in Gutiérrez-Carmona et al., 2024; 21.05 years in Tung, 2019; 22.4 years in Moeini et al., 2019). Regarding gender, the studies included both male and female students, with two additional studies having transgender, non-binary and prefer not to disclose ( Wang et al., 2022; Joseph and Raque, 2023).
4.2 Self-compassion interventions delivery format and outcome measures
From the results displayed in
In most of the included studies, the delivery modes were face-to-face sessions; four studies ( Bidik and Sisman, 2024; Joseph and Raque, 2023; Wang et al., 2022; Yang et al., 2024) used an online delivery format through the use of WeChat and Zoom flat form and two studies used face-to-face delivery and the addition of home practice and follow-up ( Dahmardeh, 2025; Gutiérrez-Carmona et al., 2024) possibly indicating the use of the blended approach. Some interventions combined interactive and experiential such as sand tray exercises ( Durant et al., 2024) or peer mentoring ( Wang et al., 2022). These differences show the diversity of approaches to delivering self-compassion intervention training to nursing students.
In most of the included articles, the authors assessed self-compassion outcomes using SCS ( Bidik and Sisman, 2024; Erkin and Şenuzun Aykar., 2020; Gutiérrez-Carmona et al., 2024; Kurebayashi, 2020; Tung, 2019), SCS-SF and its subscales ( Donovan et al., 2021; Joseph and Raque, 2023; Yang et al., 2024). Other common outcome indicators included the Perceived Stress Scale ( Gutiérrez-Carmona et al., 2024; Donovan et al., 2021; Tung, 2019; Yang et al., 2024), Mindful attention awareness scale ( Erkin and Şenuzun Aykar., 2020; Yang et al., 2024) and Maslach burnout inventory ( Durant et al., 2024; Tung, 2019). Others used RRQ, DASS-21, WEMWBS, BRS, PPHB, mDES, ATOP, CFI, CCS, STS and CAMS-R ( Bidik and Sisman, 2024; Joseph and Raque, 2023; Kurebayashi, 2020; Tung, 2019; Wang et al., 2022; Gutiérrez-Carmona et al., 2024; Donovan et al., 2021).
4.3 Self-compassion intervention effects on the outcome measures/indicators
Among the studies, Tung (2019) stands out for reporting large effect sizes across multiple domains. The eight-session MSC intervention produced substantial increases in SC ( d = 1.136) and mindfulness ( d =1.079), as well as meaningful reductions in stress ( d = 0.525–0.631) and burnout ( d = 0.719). Similarly, Gutiérrez-Carmona et al. (2024) reported reductions in stress ( d = 0.83) and state anxiety ( d = 0.74), along with a moderate decrease in trait anxiety ( d = 0.34) following a ten-session compassion training program. These findings highlight the potential of structured self-compassion-focused interventions to decrease distress and enhance emotional well-being. Durant et al. (2024) reported improvements in SC, mindfulness and reductions in burnout after an MSC training that incorporated the Sandtray, possibly indicating the added value of creative experiential elements; however, the authors did not report the effect size. Similarly, Moeini et al. (2019) found a significant increase in clinical self-efficacy (p < .001) following SC intervention, highlighting the potential of such training to enhance professional confidence.
Bidik and Sisman (2024) also reported improvements in SC, resilience and health-promoting behaviours (p < .05) after an MSC intervention guided by Watsons’s caring theory, suggesting that integrating MSC training with nursing-specific models may be particularly beneficial. Furthermore, Erkin and Şenuzun Aykar (2020) reported increases in SC and mindfulness, along with reductions in self-judgment and feelings of isolation ( p < .05) following a program that blended SC with yoga practice. In contrast, brief or minimal-contact interventions (single-session or short-duration online programs) generally produced small or non-significant changes in SC and related outcomes. These highlight the importance of program intensity, duration and multi-modal engagement in achieving meaningful psychological benefits.
5 Discussion
This PRISMA-ScR-based review synthesized and mapped the evidence from studies evaluating the effects of self-compassion interventions among nursing students. It addressed study characteristics, key components and theoretical frameworks of intervention, delivery methods and outcomes that were measured and evaluated. Twelve intervention studies (eight RCT and four Quasi-experimental pre-post designs), involving a total of 895 participants, met the inclusion criteria for in-depth review.
Both RCTs and quasi-experimental studies, have reported improvements in self-compassion after the interventions, but studies employing stronger methodological designs ( Bidik and Sisman, 2024; Durant et al., 2024; Erkin and Şenuzun Aykar., 2020; Tung, 2019) reported moderate to large effect sizes; this is consistent with prior evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses that have evaluated the effects of self-compassion interventions among diverse populations and university students ( Ferrari et al., 2019; Póka et al.,2023). The consistent evidence from individual and review studies further indicates the potential of self-compassion training as a valuable strategy in nursing education.
In addition, the findings of the review showed consistent improvements in mindfulness, self-efficacy, resilience and health-promoting behaviours ( Bidik and Sisman, 2024; Durant et al., 2024; Erkin and Şenuzun Aykar, 2020; Gutiérrez-Carmona et al., 2024; Moeini et al., 2019; Tung, 2019), which aligns with the findings of individual studies and systematic reviews indicating that self-compassion interventions produce significant gains in mindfulness and a range of psychological resources that are important for participants' wellbeing and professional resilience ( Kotera and Van Gordon, 2021; Crandall et al., 2022; Neff et al., 2020).
From the review findings, reductions in stress and burnout were identified in both RCTs and quasi-experimental studies, which agrees with findings of self-compassion intervention among healthcare professionals and review findings among workers ( Martins et al., 2025; Neff et al., 2020). Similarly, decreases in self-judgement, feelings of isolation and both state and trait anxiety were reported in the findings of some included studies ( Durant et al., 2024; Erkin and Şenuzun Aykar., 2020; Gutiérrez-Carmona et al., 2024; Tung, 2019). The findings agree with meta-analytic evidence indicating that self-compassion interventions significantly reduced psychological distress among clinical and non-clinical populations and university students ( Ferrari et al., 2019). These multiple findings across different study methods and populations further demonstrate that self-compassion interventions can be potential promising approach for enhancing emotional well-being and psychological resilience, especially in highly stressful academic and clinical environments. The results also showed the need for integrating such programmes into nursing curricula and student support services as a proactive and empowering strategy to promote student mental health.
The sessions of the interventions in the included studies differ from 1 to 18 sessions, with the duration of individual sessions lasting from 10 min to 4 h. However, studies reporting significant effects (moderate to large effect sizes) mostly implemented at least eight sessions with a total of 12 or more hours of intervention ( Durant et al., 2024; Gutiérrez-Carmona et al., 2024; Moeini et al., 2019; Tung, 2019). Durant et al. (2024) reported significant findings following 32 h of intervention delivered over eight weeks; likewise, Moeini et al. (2019) reported positive effects with 12-hour training that was delivered over the same period, although the lack of follow-up in this study calls for cautious interpretation of the results. Interestingly, a brief intervention that comprised a 90-minute online MSC that was implemented for a period of six weeks showed improvements in self-compassion, resilience and protective health behaviours ( Bidik and Sisman, 2024). Overall, these findings are consistent with prior research suggesting that longer-duration and higher-intensity interventions offer greater opportunities to internalise self-compassion skills ( Kotera and Van Gordon, 2021).
Interventions based on the MSC framework ( Neff and Germer, 2013) appeared particularly effective; this underscores the value of structured, theory-driven programs in promoting self-compassion and related mental health outcomes in nursing students. A significant gap identified in this review is the geographical focus of existing research; we observed that all the included studies were conducted in high-income Western countries and Eastern countries (USA, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong and Turkey). No studies originated from sub-Saharan Africa or the low- and middle-income countries. Bearing in mind that self-compassion can be perceived and practised differently across cultures ( Montero-Marin et al., 2018), future research should prioritize developing and evaluating culturally relevant self-compassion interventions in these underrepresented regions. Such studies are needed to address context-specific stressors, enhance cultural appropriateness and promote equity in nursing education globally. We anticipate participatory approaches involving students and educators to consider adapting interventions according to local contexts in future studies.
Additionally, all participants in the included studies were undergraduate nursing students with minimal inclusion of diploma-level students. Future research should aim to explore the impact of self-compassion interventions across educational levels (postgraduate diploma nursing specialties and Postgraduate nursing students). Considering the widespread prevalence of stress and psychological distress throughout nursing education, broadening the scope of inquiry could support the development of more inclusive, equitable and responsive curricular and support strategies.
In measuring self-compassion outcomes, most studies assessed self-compassion using the SCS (Neff, 2003b) or its short form (SCS-SF; Raes et al., 2011); while these tools are widely validated, future research may benefit from using self-compassion measures developed in the native languages of the study populations; this could enhance cultural sensitivity and better capture subtle nuances of self-compassion across diverse contexts ( Montero-Marin et al., 2018).
Although self-compassion interventions improved mindfulness and reduced stress and burnout ( Durant et al., 2024; Tung, 2019), only one study explicitly evaluated the impact of the intervention on resilience ( Bidik and Sisman, 2024) and none assessed coping strategies or broader psychological well-being; future research should incorporate these outcomes to enhance understanding of how self-compassion training supports nursing students’ adaptation, coping and overall mental health. Furthermore, qualitative research is needed to explore students' lived experiences of self-compassion interventions, providing rich contextual insights to refine content, delivery and implementation.
5.1 Limitations
This review has several limitations; first, it only included studies where student nurses were the intervention participants; as such, we cannot generalize the research findings to other healthcare professional students. Secondly, the review limited its scope to studies published in English, which may have excluded non-English publications. Third, we included only quantitative (RCT and quasi-experimental) studies which may exclude important insights such as perceived challenges and lived experiences of the participants.
5.2 Implications and recommendations for research, education and practice
Future studies should prioritize the development and evaluation of self-compassion interventions in sub-Saharan Africa and other low and middle-income countries to address global inequities in nursing education. Research should also explore the effectiveness of these interventions across different levels of nursing specialties education and postgraduate students. There is a need for mixed-methods study that incorporate a qualitative component to capture students' lived experiences and inform culturally sensitive adaptation of intervention content and delivery. Furthermore, outcome measures should include resilience, coping strategies and psychological well-being to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the intervention's impact. Taking into account the consistent evidence supporting the benefits of self-compassion training, nurse educators should consider integrating structured self-compassion programs into nursing curricula as part of broader efforts to promote student well-being. Such initiatives could help nursing students develop protective psychological resources and prepare them to deliver compassionate nursing care. Nursing institutions, professional bodies and policymakers should support the adoption of evidence-based self-compassion interventions as part of mental health promotion and stress management strategies in nursing education and clinical training environments.
6 Conclusion
This review provides a comprehensive synthesis and mapping of current evidence on self-compassion interventions for nursing students. The findings suggest that self-compassion training based on the MSC framework, delivered across multiple sessions totaling more than 12 h, can effectively enhance self-compassion, mindfulness, resilience and health-protecting behaviours while also reducing stress, burnout, anxiety, self-judgement and feelings of isolation. These positive outcomes further illustrate the potential of self-compassion interventions to serve as promotive and protective strategies for nursing students’ mental health.
Funding
"This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Samineh Esmaeilzadeh: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Supervision, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization. Inuwa Ahmadu: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Validation, Methodology, Investigation, Funding acquisition, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors report that there are no competing interests to declare
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the university library staff for their help and support during the initial search strategy
Appendix A Supporting information
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the online version at
Appendix A Supplementary material
Supplementary material
Supplementary material
Table 1
| Author, Year, Country | Aim | Design | Sample (I
/C) |
Sample Characteristics
(I/C) |
Type of Intervention | Key Findings |
| Bidik and Sisman (2024), Turkey. | To determine effect of MSC intervention incorporating Watson’s caring theory on health behaviours | RCT T1-T3 | 80(40/40) | 2nd Year Undergraduate;
Mean age 19.80/19.72; male & female; |
6 session Mindful self-compassion intervention incorporating Watson’s caring theory | ↑ SC, resilience, and health behaviour (p < .05). |
| Dahmardeh (2025), Iran. | To determine the effect of SC training on Moral injury | RCT Pre-post | 150 (75/75) | 7th - 8th semester Undergraduate, mean age 22.12/21.89; male & female; married & Single | 8 session grouped based SC Intervention | ↓ Moral injury (p = .001) |
| Donovan et al. (2021), USA. | To determine the feasibility of MFY: A Mindful
Self-Compassion Program on Stress, SC and mindfulness |
Quasi T1-T2 | 25 | Undergraduate;
Mean age 20.35; Male, female & others; |
8 session MFY: A Mindful
Self-Compassion Program |
↑ SC, mindfulness, ↓ stress (p < .001); ↑ academic stress |
| Durant et al. (2024), USA. | To evaluate effect of MSC based on Sandtray on burnout | RCT T1-T3 | 133(68/65) | 3rd- 4th Year Undergraduate;
Mean age 23.18/22.02; male & others; |
8 session Mindful self-compassion intervention incorporating sandtray. | ↓ Burnout, ↑ SC, mindfulness |
| Erkin and Şenuzun Aykar, (2020), Turkey. | To determine effect of yoga and SC intervention on Mindfulness and SC | Quasi Pre-post | 47 | 1st year Undergraduate,
18–21 years; female; married & Single |
14 session Self-compassion intervention & Yoga | ↑ SK, CH, MF, & overall SC all (p < .05); ↓SJ, IS & OI all (p < .05); ↑ mindfulness (p < .05) |
| Gutiérrez-Carmona et al. (2024), Chile. | To evaluate the effect of compassion training on stress and anxiety | Quasi T1-T3 | 45 | 2nd Year Undergraduate;
Mean age 19.3; male & female; |
10 session Compassion training and Self-compassion exercise | ↓ Stress with large effect (d = 0.83), ↓ state anxiety (d = 0.74) and trait anxiety with moderate effect (d = 0.34); (p < .000). |
| Joseph and Raque (2023), USA. | To assess feasibility of SC loving kindness meditation on weight stigma | RCT Post only | 189(80/109) | Undergraduate & Diploma;
Mean age 29.77; male & female; |
Brief one session Self-compassion and Loving kindness meditation | ↑ Positive other-regarding and positive non-other-regarding emotions; NS SC/weight bias |
| Kurebayashi (2020), Japan. | To evaluate the effect of SC process recording on self-focus | RCT Pre-post | 35(17/18) | 4th year Undergraduate,
male & female; married & Single |
Brief Self-compassion process recording intervention | ↓ Self-judgement (p = .046); ↓ rumination (p = .002) |
| Moeini et al. (2019) Iran. | To determine the effect of SC intervention on clinical self-efficacy | RCT Pre-post | 52(26/26) | 7th - 8th semester Undergraduate, mean age 22.4; male & female; married & Single | 8 session weekly Self-compassion-based intervention. | ↑ Self-efficacy (p < .001) |
| Tung (2019), Hong Kong. | To determine the effect of MSC on stress and SC | RCT, TI-T4 | 88 (44/44) | 4th Year Undergraduate & Diploma,
Mean age 21.05/21.16; male, female & others; |
8 session based on Mindful self-compassion intervention. | ↓ Stress Cohen’s d = 0.525–0.631)/burnout (d = 0.719, ↑ CS (d = 0.551)
SC (d = 1.136) & mindfulness (d = 1.079) (p < .05). |
| Wang et al. (2022), Canada. | To assess the impact of virtual peer mentoring based on MSC | Quasi pre-post | 23 | 4th year Undergraduate,
18–44 years; male, female & others; married & Single |
↑ SC, well-being; ↓ DASS (NS) | |
| Yang et al. (2024), China. | To assess feasibility and effect of online compassion training | RCT Pre-post | 28(13/15) | 2nd year Undergraduate, mean age 19.31/19.5 male & female; married & Single | 8 sessions online Compassion Intervention based on MSC | ↑ Mindfulness (p < .05); NS SC/stress |
Table 2
| Study | Intervention summary | Delivery mode | Sessions/Duration | Outcomes | Measures |
| Bidik and Sisman (2024) | MSC +Watson’s caring theory, home practice | Online (zoom) | 6 Sessions, 90 min, 6 weeks. | SC, resilience, health behaviour | SCS,BRS,PPHBS |
| Dahmardeh (2025) | SC training covering MF, SK, emotion regulation, relationships, life acceptance. | Face-to-face + Home follow up | 8 Sessions, 45 min each, 4 weeks. | Moral injury | MISS-HP-Persian |
| Donovan et al. (2021) | MFY:MSC, art and group discussion | Face-to-face | 8 sessions, 90 min each, 8 weeks. | SC, stress, mindfulness | SCS-SF, PSS, CAMS-R |
| Durant et al. (2024) | MSC training + Sandtray workshop | Face-to-face | 8 Sessions, 4 h each, 8 weeks. | Burnout | MBI |
| Erkin and Şenuzun Aykar, (2020) | Yoga course with Self-compassion elements | Face-to-face | 14 Sessions, 90 min each, 14 weeks. | SC, mindfulness | SCS, MAAS |
| Gutiérrez-Carmona et al. (2024) | Compassion training + metta journaling | Face- to face + Home practice | 10 sessions, 1 h 35 min each, 10 weeks. | SC, stress, anxiety | SCS, PSS, STAS |
| Joseph and Raque (2023) | Brief self-compassion LKM | Online | Brief 1 session, 10 min | SC, weight bias | SCS-SF, mDES, ATOP, CFI, CCS |
| Kurebayashi, (2020) | SC process recording brief intervention | Face-to-face | I session, 90 min. | SC, rumination | SCS, RRQ |
| Moeini et al. (2019) | Weekly self-compassion intervention + Assignments | Face-to-face | 8 Sessions, 1.5each, 8 weeks. | Clinical self-efficacy | SE clinical performance |
| Tung (2019) | MSC training with retreat and group work | Face-to-face | 8 Sessions, 3 h each, 8 weeks. | SC, stress, burnout | SCS,PSS,MBI, FFMQ |
| Wang et al.(2022) | MSC +VPM with biweekly contact | Online | 18 sessions over 9 moths | SC, well-being | SCS,WEMWBS, DASS−21 |
| Yang et al.(2024) | Online MSC+CCT, psychoeducation and diary practices | Online (WeChat) | 8 weeks, phases spanning 2–3 weeks each. | SC, stress, and Mindfulness | MAAS, SCS-SF, PSS. |
Table 3
| Study | Key outcomes | Significant effects | Effect sizes |
| Tung (2019) | SC, stress, burnout, mindfulness | ↑ CS, SC, mindfulness; ↓ Stress, burnout (p < .05). | ↑ CS (d = 0.551); SC (d = 1.136); MF (d = 1.079)
↓ Stress (d = 0.525–0.631); burnout (d = 0.719). |
| Gutiérrez-Carmona et al. (2024) | Stress, anxiety | ↓ Stress, ↓state and trait anxiety (p < .000). | Stress (d = 0.83); state anxiety (d = 0.74); trait anxiety (d = 0.34). |
| Durant et al. (2024) | Burnout, SC, mindfulness | ↓ burnout
↑ SC, mindfulness; |
Not reported, large qualitative effect |
| Moeini et al. (2019) | Clinical self-efficacy | ↑ Self-efficacy (p < .001). | Not reported |
| Bidik and Sisman (2024) | SC, resilience, health behaviour | ↑ SC, resilience, health behaviour (p < .05). | Not reported |
| Erkin and Şenuzun Aykar, (2020) | SC, mindfulness | ↑ SC, mindfulness;
↓ self-judgement, isolation (p < .05). |
Not reported |
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