The Effectiveness of Mindful Self-Compassion Training on Communication Skills and Psychopathological Symptoms of Adolescents from Divorcing Families

Choobforoushzadeh, Azadeh; Dafeian, Fatemeh; Sahraian, Kimia

doi:10.22075/jcp.2025.36357.3084

The Effectiveness of Mindful Self-Compassion Training on Communication Skills and Psychopathological Symptoms of Adolescents from Divorcing Families

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Azadeh Choobforoushzadeh ¹

Fatemeh Dafeian ²

Kimia Sahraian ³

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty Humanities and social sciences, Ardakan University, Ardakan, Iran

² Ph.D Student, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ardakan University, Ardakan, Iran.

³ Assistant Professor. Department of Psychology, Higher Education Center of Eghlid, Eghlid, Iran

10.22075/jcp.2025.36357.3084

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindful self-compassion training on communication skills and psychological symptoms in adolescents from families undergoing divorce.
Methods: The research employed a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test, post-test, and two-month follow-up. The statistical population included all adolescent children of couples seeking divorce in Yazd in 2023. A total of 30 participants were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The research instruments included an interpersonal communication skills questionnaire and a revised checklist of psychological disorder symptoms. The experimental group participated in eight 90-minute sessions of mindful self-compassion training based on Neff's (2018) protocol, while the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA in SPSS-26.
Results: Results indicated that mindful self-compassion training significantly improved communication skills and psychological symptoms such as hostility, anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, and depression in the experimental group (p <0/001), while no significant changes were observed in the control group (p > 0/001).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that mindful self-compassion interventions positively impact the psychological components of adolescents from families experiencing divorce, indicating their potential as a therapeutic approach to enhance their mental health.

Keywords

Compassion

Communication skills

Divorce

Mindfulness

Psychopathological

Subjects