Cited by 142Student Stress and CopingMindfulness and Compassion InterventionsHigher Education Research Studies

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Stress, self-compassion, and well-being during the transition to college

Kroshus, Emily, Hawrilenko, Matt, Browning, Anne·2021·Social Science & Medicine

DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113514

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Abstract

Rationale The transition to college presents a period of vulnerability to mental illness, and opportunity for positive psychosocial development.Objective The present study sought to build an explanatory person-centered and contextualized model of student wellbeing in the transition to college.Method Participants were entering first year undergraduate students at a large public university in the United States (n = 5509). Online survey data were collected at three time points across the academic year, with outcomes of depression and anxiety, thriving, and grade point average, and predictors including resilient coping, self-compassion, social support, school connections and the acute and chronic stressors experienced during the transition to college. Latent growth curves were used to examine trajectories of change in depression and anxiety, and a cross-lagged panel model was used to describe a system of how all measured variables influenced each other over time.Results There were four main findings. On average, students experienced moderate increases in depression and anxiety from the summer before college through the spring, with wide variability across students and no clear patterning by demographic groups. Second, self-compassion was the strongest and most consistent predictor of successful transitions. Third, chronic stressors were strongly predictive of more negative outcomes, and self-compassion and coping skills did not buffer their effects. Finally, people most likely to experience chronic stressors over the school year included women, people who identify as sexual minorities and first-generation students.Conclusions Programming to support entering college students should seek to foster self-compassion, while also limiting chronic stressors and reducing their inequitable distribution across the student population.

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Background
Self-compassion as a Newly Observed Dimension of the Student's Personality
Krejčová, K., Rymešová, P., & Chýlová, H. (2023) · Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science · doi:10.7160/eriesj.2023.160205 · Cited by 3
Differential Pattern of Consequences of Self‐Compassion Across Gender
Musabiq, S., Santoso, G. P. A., Takwin, B., & Poerwandari, E. K. (2024) · Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology · doi:10.1155/2024/5564391 · Cited by 3
İşletme Hastalıkları Bağlamında: Örgütsel Körlük (Miyopi) ve Silo Sendromu
Seyrek, E. (2024) · Özgür Yayınları eBooks · doi:10.58830/ozgur.pub642.c2729 · Cited by 2
Differential associations among psychological flexibility components, depressive symptoms, and sense of belonging in first semester college students
Hsu, T., Nardini, C., Vélez, G., & Raposa, E. B. (2025) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2024.2446442 · Cited by 3
“6 One study in the late 2010s found that rates of positive screening for clinically significant depression increase from 28% to 36% over the course of students’ first year in college, 7 and a national survey of first-year college students from universities throughout the United States indicated…”
Online Pre‐Nursing Students' Experiences With Practicing Self‐Compassion Skills: A Thematic Analysis
Urban, R. W., Jennings, L. A., & George, K. (2025) · Journal of Advanced Nursing · doi:10.1111/jan.17005 · Cited by 2
The role of self-compassion in mental health among early adulthood with ADHD symptoms: a network psychometric approach
Heng, H., Zheng, Y., Zheng, F., Su, H., Tang, L., Zhao, Y., He, Y., & Yang, G. (2025) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-025-03120-1 · Cited by 2
“A longitudinal study that measured self-compassion and mental health levels among high school students transitioning to college found that lower self-compassion correlated with poorer mental health outcomes, exacer-bating depression and anxiety due to stress transference [18].”
Self-Compassion Among Chinese Adolescents: Internal Structure, Latent Profiles, and Its Longitudinal Association with Meaning in Life
Miao, M., Wen, J., Cao, R., Jin, S., & Gan, Y. (2025) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-025-02649-x · Cited by 2
“…self-compassion and well-being among adolescents (Bluth et al., 2017; Galla, 2016; Kroshus et al., 2021), these studies predominantly focused on emotional or hedonic well-being (Bluth & Blanton, 2015; Bluth et al., 2017; Galla, 2016) or overall well-being (Kroshus et al., 2021; Sun et al., 2016).”
Gender-specific developmental trajectories of anxiety and depression among college students: Risk of attitudes toward suicide and suicidal behavior
Yang, C., Song, Y., & Su, S. (2025) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2025.121007 · Cited by 2
The impact of transition shock on moral sensitivity among nursing interns and its mechanism: a cross-sectional study
Liu, X., Liang, R., Wu, J., Zhong, X., Yiwei, L. I., Yuan, Y., Ding, H., Cai, T., & TingTing, R. U. A. N. (2026) · Frontiers in Medicine · doi:10.3389/fmed.2026.1773512 · Cited by 2
“Kroshus et al. (22) surveyed 5,509 first-year college students and demonstrated that self-compassion plays a vital role in alleviating transition shock-related stress and improving well-being among undergraduates.”
Investigating the Relationship Between Disability Status and Grit
Glover, H. L., Robertson, S., & Geye, T. (2021) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn26.2.130 · Cited by 2
Mattering matters for students high in socially prescribed perfectionism as they transition to university: Support for a moderation model
Mohammed, S., Maranzan, K. A., & Mushquash, A. R. (2023) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2023.112356 · Cited by 3
Emerging Adults’ Experiences of Managing Social Group Disruptions
Hawkins, J. M., D’Aniello, C., Fife, S. T., Cravens, J. P., & Bean, R. A. (2024) · Emerging Adulthood · doi:10.1177/21676968241233137 · Cited by 2
“Other studies found that factors such as self-compassion, family support, social support, and solitude can help emerging adults manage this transition (Dorrance Hall et al., 2017; Kroshus et al., 2021; Nguyen et al., 2019; Skobba et al., 2018).”
Background
Navigating the Path
Salimi, N., Gere, B., Mora, E., & Chen, R. K. (2024) · Advances in educational marketing, administration, and leadership book series · doi:10.4018/979-8-3693-3342-6.ch006 · Cited by 2
Work-related well-being in early career: A role of self-compassion
Krejčová, K., Krejčí, I., Chýlová, H., Rymešová, P., & Michálek, P. (2024) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41377 · Cited by 2
“SC has been demonstrated to be a significant predictor of a successful transition to college, which is considered a demanding period from a mental health perspective [15].”
Socio-psychological adaptation of students from indigenous minorities of the North, Siberia and the Far East to college in a new sociocultural environment: A theoretical model
Miklyaeva, A. V., Pezhemskaya, J. S., Khoroshikh, V. V., & Baeva, I. A. (2022) · Science for Education Today · doi:10.15293/2658-6762.2206.04 · Cited by 3
“…[55], осмысленность жизни [93], уверенность в себе [79] и самосострадание студента [34; 90], ко-торое является предиктором улучшения пси-хоэмоционального состояния студентов, ис-пытывающих умеренное усиление депрессии и тревожности перед поступлением в колледж и на протяжении учебного года [63].”
Can Self-Compassion Improve Adolescents Psychological Well-being?
Fauziah, L. H., & Rofiqoh, M. I. (2023) · Jurnal Psikologi Teori dan Terapan · doi:10.26740/jptt.v14n2.p226-236 · Cited by 2
“Difficulties in childhood and adolescence account for nearly half of mental health disorders (Leventhal et al., 2015).”
Background
Transição para o Ensino Superior: Uma Revisão Sistemática
Braun, K. C. R., Marcilio, F. C. P., & Dias, A. C. G. (2024) · Estudos e Pesquisas em Psicologia · doi:10.12957/epp.2024.61266 · Cited by 1
Pandemic Pathways: College Graduates Stalling, Regressing, and Pivoting during COVID-19
Loe, M. (2024) · Socius Sociological Research for a Dynamic World · doi:10.1177/23780231241266500 · Cited by 1
“Chronic stressors were most commonly experienced by women, sexual and racial minorities, and first-generation students (Gato et al. 2021; Hoyt et al. 2021; Kroshus, Hawrilenko, and Browning 2021).”
Development of Positive Psychology Among Freshmen at Universities
Aloka, P. J. O., Ajayi, O. B., & Mnyamana, N. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-72520-3_1 · Cited by 1
Factors associated with low self-compassion in young adults
O’Loughlin, E. K., Marashi, M., Beer, S., Sabiston, C. M., Nesbitt, A. E., O’Rourke, R. H., Sylvestre, M., & O’Loughlin, J. L. (2024) · Canadian Journal of Public Health · doi:10.17269/s41997-024-00965-8 · Cited by 8
“Recent research demonstrates the facilitative role of self-compassion for young people’s well-being while transitioning to new roles and managing increased stressors (Kroshus et al., 2021).”
Adolescent non-supportive emotion socialization moderates the relation between distress and support seeking during the transition to college and COVID-19 pandemic
Marousis, N. C., & Luebbe, A. (2025) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2025.2516602 · Cited by 1
“Our hypothesis that students experiencing higher levels of distress (i.e., stress, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms) would report seeking more emotional support from caregivers when they had also retrospectively reported more supportive emotion socialization responses in adolescence was 2.”
Effects of an ACT-based intervention on university students’ self-compassion and psychological well-being
Hontoy, L.-M., Joussemet, M., Robichaud, J., Mageau, G. A., & Grégoire, S. (2025) · Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science · doi:10.1016/j.jcbs.2025.100927 · Cited by 1
A principal component analysis of the post-secondary student stressors index in a sample of Ontario students
Kuburi, S., Wang, B., Hamza, C. A., & Linden, B. (2025) · PLOS mental health. · doi:10.1371/journal.pmen.0000431 · Cited by 1
“…sample included a more diverse ethnic composition than is typical and focused on first-year students, a group known to experience heightened stress during the transition to university [42], the sample was predominantly composed of students who were mostly women, White, East Asian, and South Asian.”
Longitudinal relationship between self‐compassion and psychological richness in adolescents: Evidence from a network analysis
Liu, Y. W., Zhong, K., Ren, A., Liu, Y., & Kong, F. (2025) · Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1111/aphw.70087 · Cited by 1
Better together: Group-level social dynamics predict individuals’ psychological adjustment during a major life transition
Nelson, M. A., Nakamura, J. S., Chen, F. S., & Mikami, A. Y. (2025) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/02654075251401692 · Cited by 1
“Beginning university is a major life transition for young adults, during which they are at heightened risk for developing depression and anxiety (Kroshus et al., 2021), and hostility (Galambos & Krahn, 2008).”
Associations between sleep disturbances and physical activity with depressive symptoms, and their association to self-harm thoughts among Brazilian university students: A cross-sectional machine learning study
Camargo, M. J. G., Felício, L. F. F., Schuch, F. B., Tornquist, D., Deslandes, A. C., Zanetti, A. C. G., Pires, D. A., da Silva, D. R. P., de Jesus‐Moraleida, F. R., Moura, H. F., et al. (2026) · Mental health and physical activity · doi:10.1016/j.mhpa.2025.100750 · Cited by 1
Closing the loop: Design, implementation, and evaluation of a regular-feedback network intervention for social connectedness and mental health
Khalilian, M., Bardo, A. R., Reardon, C., Kostelic, A., Thiel, S., & Krause, R. W. (2026) · Social Networks · doi:10.1016/j.socnet.2026.02.002 · Cited by 1
Thriving through transition: a narrative review of optimism, self-compassion, and academic stress in first-year college students
Ghaty, N., Vijayan, S., Selvan, R., Srinivasan, S., Manoj, S., & Sonnegowda, M. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1762426 · Cited by 2
Caring with AI: The efficacy of a customised ChatGPT-delivered self-compassion intervention on college students' well-being and academic functioning
Chen, X., Cheng, C.-Y., & Hartanto, A. (2026) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2026.101267 · Cited by 1
College Adjustment and Maladjustment
Becker, M. A. S., & Israelashvili, M. (2023) · Advances in prevention science · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-26700-0_11 · Cited by 1
The Adolescent Self-System and Academic Achievement: Youth Predictors of College Enrollment
Roberts, A. C., Booth, M. Z., & Creamer, E. T. (2023) · Youth & Society · doi:10.1177/0044118x231201678 · Cited by 4
“The transition to college is notably stressful (Kitzrow, 2003; Kroshus et al., 2021, Larose et al., 2005) and may contribute to decreases in self-esteem and self-worth (Auerbach et al., 2018; Bruffaerts et al., 2018; Lipson et al., 2019).”
Background
Multiple Stigmas and Their Dimensions: The Mediating Role of Self-compassion in Reduced Resilience
Tang, Y., Julian, C. A., Braun, K., Stinger, S. A., & Williams, S. L. (2023) · Adversity and Resilience Science · doi:10.1007/s42844-023-00122-z · Cited by 2
“The increased stress, freedoms, and accountabilities can produce loneliness, fear, discomfort, crises, as well as psychological growth (Bill-ings, 2021; Carmack et al., 2018; Cooper et al., 2020; Kroshus et al., 2021).”
Sustainable Development of Children and Character Education: Bibliometric Analysis Using Vosviewer
Shinta, S., Partino, P., & Suud, F. M. (2024) · Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental · doi:10.24857/rgsa.v18n5-059 · Cited by 1
The effects of proximal and distal forms of stress on college student mental health and affective well-being
Spink, K. M., Zhang, H., Nurius, P. S., Seldin, K., Ren, Y., & Foster, K. T. (2025) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2025.2472182 · Cited by 1
“8 Given this high level of strain, studies have examined the influence of stress on mental health and affect in the college setting.”
Analysis of the correlation between students’ self-compassion and external pressure under chronic stress response
Ren, S., Xi, J., & Ray, A. (2021) · Work · doi:10.3233/wor-213501 · Cited by 1
A Narrative Inquiry into the Influence of School Shooting Survival on College Transition and Experience
Piskorik, J. M. (2022) · doi:10.33915/etd.11616 · Cited by 1
Reimagining institutional resources to support persistence and retention of first-generation students in a four-year public institution in the U.S.: An action research study.
Hortis, E. (2023) · Digital Repository Service (Northeastern University) · doi:10.17760/d20537518 · Cited by 1
Factors Associated With Owning a Fake ID: Personality Traits and Problematic Alcohol Use
Deegan, K., & Kotchick, B. A. (2021) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn26.2.176
Acceptance of Transgender Veterans in Social Settings: An Experimental Study
Tremblay, A., Oliveira, J. M., & Pinard, K. (2021) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn26.2.113
Pengembangan Alat Ukur Sense of Coherence untuk Mahasiswa di Indonesia
Prihandini, G. R. (2021) · ANFUSINA Journal of Psychology · doi:10.24042/ajp.v4i2.13442

Authors: Kroshus, E., Hawrilenko, M., & Browning, A.
Affiliations: University of Washington (US)
Corresponding author: Kroshus, Emily
ORCID: Kroshus, Emily
Hawrilenko, Matt
Browning, Anne
Venue: Social Science & Medicine
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2021-01
Volume: 269
Pages: 113514
ISSN: 0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113514
OpenAlex: W3098991845
Cited by: 142
References: 86
Citations by year: 2026: 27 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 12
FWCI: 21.12
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
www.elsevier.com/legal/tdmrep-license (tdm)
Locations: Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders: University of Washington
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
Keywords: transition to college, self-compassion, stress, student well-being, depression, anxiety, thriving, grade point average, resilient coping, social support, school connectedness, chronic stressors, first-generation college students, sexual minorities, gender differences, first-year students, mental health
MeSH terms: Adaptation, Psychological, Anxiety, Empathy, Female, Humans, Students, Universities

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Stress, self-compassion, and well-being during the transition to college

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