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found to be significant predictors of the subscale of
life purpose.
Self-compassion, together with personal
characteristics, accounts for 44% of the variance in
self-acceptance. Self-compassion and extroversion
were positive predictors; while neuroticism was
negative a negative predictor in the self-acceptance
subscale of psychological well-being.
Discussions
In the present study, it was found that there was a
significant positive correlation between all subscales
of psychological well-being and self-compassion.
Self-compassion and self-acceptance are the most
conspicuous subscales of psychological well-being.
Self-acceptance implies that the individual has a
positive attitude towards himself/herself. It involves
adopting a positive attitude towards oneself,
accepting both the positive and negative sides of
the self and having positive emotions about past
experiences. Self-compassion involves being open
to one’s suffering rather than avoiding it, identifying
oneself with that suffering, the desire to alleviate
that suffering and showing affection and the
most importantly, understanding one’s own grief,
deficiencies and failures without judging them as
a part of gaining new experiences. In this regard,
it is seen that the basic ideas of self-compassion
and psychological well-being are similar to each
other. The relations between them lend support
to this. It was found that there was a significant
correlation between all subscales of psychological
well-being and personal characteristics. It was
found that there was a strong significant correlation
between the subscales of environmental mastery
and self-acceptance and extroversion; between the
subscales of autonomy and personal development
and openness to experience to experiences and
between the subscale of purpose in life and
responsibility. When the literature is examined,
it is seen that there was a significant correlation
between the subscales in the studies that focused on
the relationship between the Five Factor Personality
Theory and psychological well-being (Schmutte &
Ryff, 1997; Grant, Langan-Fox, & Anglim 2009).
Schmutte and Ryff (1997) found that there was a
significant positive correlation between personal
growth, openness to experience to new experiences
and extroversion; between positive relations with
others and agreeableness and extroversion and
between environmental mastery, purpose in life
and responsibility. In Grant et al. (2009) study,
extroversion, neuroticism and responsibility were
found to be the predictors of both subjective and
psychological well-being. When the findings of
the present study and those in the literature are
compared, it is seen that these findings are parallel,
although there are some differences in an overall
sense.
The findings of the present study indicated that
self-compassion explained 15% of positive relations
with others, but when personality traits were added,
the predictive power increased up to 34%. These
results suggest that the dimension of personal
characteristics has a higher explanatory power
than that of self-compassion. When the predictors
of positive relations with others as a subscale of
psychological well-being are examined it is found
that extroversion as a personality trait was the most
important predictor in line with its high predictive
power. Zıskıs (2010) found that the most significant
predictor of the subscale of positive relations with
others is extroversion. In extroverts such qualities
as being sociable, talkative, being friendly and
self-opening come to the fore. Extroverts are more
successful in establishing close relations with
others, which is one of the basic needs of humans
as social beings and establishing secure relations.
Therefore, they are expected to be in a better
psychological condition.
The results of the present study revealed that
self-compassion and personal characteristics
account for 17% of the variance in autonomy, and
the most significant predictors of autonomy are
self-compassion, agreeableness and openness to
experience. In the studies by Keyes et al. (2002)
and Zıskıs (2010), it was found that the subscale of
autonomy negatively correlated with neuroticism,
and the one with the highest predictive power was
neuroticism. Christopher (1999) notes that Ryff’
considers autonomy as equal to individualization
and self-regulation of behaviour. Autonomous
individuals regulate their behaviours through
internal powers, and they assess themselves with
their own personal standards. When we consider
that self-compassion is a significant predictor of
autonomy according to the results of the present
study, it can be said that how individuals with self-
compassion approach their own problems indicates
that they regulate their own behaviours internally.
We see that agreeableness has emerged as a negative
predictor in the study. Agreeable individuals are
those who are polite, courteous, flexible, well-
tempered, forgiving, soft-hearted, tolerant, humble,
supportive, flexible, and they establish emotional
affinity with others. The good-tempered individuals
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might approach others’ behaviours in a naive
manner. We might assume that since they might be
modest individuals rather than voicing their desires
in interpersonal relations, and individuals who
comply with joint decisions, they have not developed
autonomy. Another personal characteristic that
predicts autonomy is being open to new experiences.
The individuals who are open to new experiences
acquire real-life experiences and get acquainted with
different cultures, and they are able to show self-
resistance during these experiences. This indicates
that they have developed autonomy.
The variables that predict environmental mastery as
a subscale of psychological well-being were found
to be self-compassion, responsibility, extroversion,
neuroticism. The findings of the studies that
focused on correlation between personal traits
and psychological well-being (Keyes et al., 2002;
Schmutte & Ryff, 1997; Zıskıs, 2010) support
well with those of the present study. Ryff (1989b)
defines environmental mastery as the ability of the
individual “to create or select an environment that
is compatible with the individual’s personal and
psychological characteristics”. Those individuals
who dominate their environments are people who
are able to use opportunities around themselves
effectively and shape the environmental conditions
in line with their own needs and values. Individuals
with self-compassion are aware that problems in
life are not only for themselves but also for others.
Extroverts are able to understand others’ feelings,
since they develop empathic relations with them.
People who lead an emotionally balanced life tend
to experience positive emotions. Individuals who
feel responsible are ready to cope with problems.
From an integrated perspective that combines
all of these properties, extroverts with a sense
of self-compassion, who are interested in their
environments and have a sense of responsibility
and who seek positive feelings are expected to have
high levels of environmental mastery.
The analysis that was carried out to determine
the predictors of personal development subscale
revealed that openness to experience and self-
compassion were positive predictors, while
neuroticism was a negative one. This finding of
the study supports well with those in the literature
(Keyes et al., 2002; Schmutte & Ryff, 1997; Zıskıs,
2010). Ryff (1989a) defines personal development as
“the ability to develop one’s potentials, so that he/she
could develop and grow individually”. Individuals
with higher levels of personal development desire
to see themselves as a person who is developing
and growing, to be open to innovations, to be
able to feel that they can use their potentials,
to see that there is development in behaviours
and in themselves, to get to know themselves
and think that they are developing effectively.
Being open to new experiences as one of the five
factors involves individuals’ tendencies to desire
new experiences, being authentic and free when
describing themselves, being curious and frank.
In this respect, it is expected that individuals who
are open to new experiences are content with their
personal growth. Self-compassionate individuals
might think that they have some deficiencies and
they approach these deficiencies from the lens
of kindness. This in turn might motivate them to
compensate for these deficiencies. The continuity
of the emotions in individuals who are at peace
with themselves and who are open to development
indicates that their motivation is permanent rather
than temporary. Since the individuals who do not
experience emotional instability are highly self-
confident, they do not avoid making attempts.
In addition, since they are self-compassionate,
and waiting to develop, these individuals will be
supported in terms of personal development.
Purpose in life means the properties of direction,
aims and purposefulness that add meaning to their
lives. Purpose of life involves individuals’ feeling
that the past and present life has a meaning; existing
in life has a meaning, having prospective aims and
objectives, and the most importantly there is a
purpose in life. The individuals who fail to adopt
a positive attitude towards the problems in life; in
other words, those who lack self-compassion might
continue their lives in depression by ruminating
on such problems rather than solving them.
Depression is a situation that triggers the perception
of worthlessness. Furthermore, depression is
a neurotic disorder; that is, it is a pathological
situation that includes emotional imbalance. When
these findings are considered, emotionally stable
and self-compassionate individuals are expected to
succeed in seeing their lives more positively, making
their lives worthier and maintain their lives in line
with the purposes of their lives. It is thought that
this boosts their psychological well-being levels.
Ryff (1989a) defines self-acceptance as a person’s
having a positive attitude towards himself/herself.
Self-acceptance implies a person’s having a positive
attitude towards himself/herself. Accepting
different properties of the self with its positive
and negative aspects and having positive attitudes
towards one’s past are the main components
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of self-acceptance. Another dimension of self-
compassion is that individuals treat each other with
affection; that is, they exhibit more compassion
than criticism towards themselves. Individuals with
kindness have a positive and courteous attitude
towards themselves rather than harshly criticizing
themselves. The individual’s having a positive
attitude towards himself/herself is the common
point in self-acceptance and self-perception.
Introverts like being among people and appear in
social environments. Therefore it can be thought
that such individuals who go down well with the
society might have a positive self-perception. In
this regard, the individual who is aware of social
acceptance will recognize the positive side of him/
her and accept it. The individuals who possess
emotional balance as a part of their characteristics
are content with themselves (Friedman & Schustack,
1999), and they tend to experience positive feelings
(McCrae & John, 1992). In this regard, when we
consider the predictors in an integrated fashion, we
can assume that self-compassion forms the basis of
self-acceptance, while extroversion and emotional
stability contribute to this. It can be noted that
individuals’ self-acceptance might contribute to
their psychological well-being.
When the findings of the study are considered
globally, it is seen that the impact of self-compassion
and personality traits is highly significant in terms
of psychological well-being. In this respect, we can
carry out experimental studies to boost the self-
compassion levels of individuals and contribute
to the development of psychological well-being of
new generations through such activities as contact
meetings and parental schools to help families
acquire positive personality traits.
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