Abstract
This study explored the relationships between self-compassion, self-esteem, perceived stress, life satisfaction and age in a convenience sample (N = 109) with the aim of better understanding positive and negative influences on life satisfaction across the adult lifespan. Pearson’s r correlations revealed significant associations on all but one of the correlations of interest – age and self-esteem. Multiple regression found self-compassion, self-esteem and perceived stress accounted for 44% of the variance in the outcome life satisfaction. Self-esteem was the strongest predictor overall. One-way ANOVA to examine differences between self-compassion and self-esteem in 3 age groups, young, mid and old, revealed non-significant results. Nevertheless, since self-compassion was found to increase steadily with age, and had a strong negative relationship with perceived stress, this study discusses methods of nurturing self-compassion to reduce stress and promote well-being.
