SynthesisBMC psychology2026
The role of self-compassion interventions in reducing anxiety and depression among university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
aimThe aim of present systematic review and meta-analysis study was to evaluate the role of self-compassion interventions in reducing anxiety and depression in university students.
methodsA systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE (Ovid), and the Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials published between January 2015 and December 2025. Study selection, data extraction, and risk-of-bias assessment were performed independently by two reviewers. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted using Hedges' g as the standardized effect size because different validated outcome measures were used across studies. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA/MP version 17 (College Station, TX, USA). The review protocol was prospectively registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; CRD420261443161).
resultsEleven randomized controlled trials involving 803 participants were included. Self-compassion interventions significantly reduced anxiety compared with control conditions (Hedges' g = - 0.854, 95% CI: -1.088 to - 0.620; p < 0.001), with moderate heterogeneity (I² = 48.5%). Similarly, self-compassion interventions significantly reduced depression symptoms (Hedges' g = - 0.694, 95% CI: -0.904 to - 0.485; p < 0.001), with low heterogeneity (I² = 41.1%). Leave-one-out sensitivity analyses demonstrated that the pooled estimates remained statistically significant after sequential exclusion of each study, indicating robust findings.
conclusionSelf-compassion-based interventions are a promising, complementary approach to reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression among university students.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.