{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]],"date-time":"2026-04-28T23:28:13Z","timestamp":1777418893071,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,8]],"date-time":"2023-09-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1694131200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"FCT\u2014Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDP\/05198\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDP\/05198\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"FCT\u2014Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["SFRH\/BD\/145253\/2019"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SFRH\/BD\/145253\/2019"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"FCT\u2014Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDP\/4255\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDP\/4255\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"FCT, CINTESIS, R&amp;D Unit","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDP\/05198\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDP\/05198\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"FCT, CINTESIS, R&amp;D Unit","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["SFRH\/BD\/145253\/2019"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SFRH\/BD\/145253\/2019"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"FCT, CINTESIS, R&amp;D Unit","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDP\/4255\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDP\/4255\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Healthcare"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Higher education is a context that requires students to develop academic, social and institutional tasks. As a result of this complex and multidimensional process, students tend to experience greater stress, anxiety and depression, making it crucial for students to mobilize a set of essential personal, social and instrumental resources, for a more positive adaptation to the academic context. Self-compassion is an adaptative emotion-regulation strategy and may help students to better adjust to academic issues. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of self-compassion as a mediator in the relationship between anxiety and depression, as well as stress and depression. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire distributed through social media. Stress and anxiety were found to be positively related to depression scores and negatively related to self-compassion. A bootstrapped mediation model confirmed the existence of a significant positive partial mediation effect exerted by self-compassion on the relationship between stress and depression (b = 0.12, 95% CI [0.05, 0.18]). The analysis also showed a significant positive partial mediation effect exerted by self-compassion in the relationship between anxiety and depression (b = 0.13, 95% CI [0.08, 0.18]). Conclusions: Self-compassion might partially mediate the relationship between stress and depression and between anxiety and depression. Findings underscore self-compassion as a potentially protective factor against negative psychological symptoms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/healthcare11182494","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,8]],"date-time":"2023-09-08T07:57:17Z","timestamp":1694159837000},"page":"2494","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Mediation of Self-Compassion on Pathways from Stress and Anxiety to Depression among Portuguese Higher Education Students"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6001-1164","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carla","family":"Serr\u00e3o","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Escola Superior de Educa\u00e7\u00e3o, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Center for Research and Innovation in Education, Polytechnic of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5803-9413","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andreia","family":"Valquaresma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Maia, 4475-690 Maia, Portugal"},{"name":"Center for Vocational Development and Lifelong Learning, University of Porto, 4299-002 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7808-3358","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana Rita","family":"Rodrigues","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Maia, 4475-690 Maia, Portugal"},{"name":"Center for Psychology, University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5160-7043","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ivone","family":"Duarte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, MEDCIDS-Department of Community Medicine, Information and Decision in Health, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"431","DOI":"10.1111\/ap.12185","article-title":"The mediating role of self-compassion in student psychological health","volume":"51","author":"Fong","year":"2016","journal-title":"Aust. 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