The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship Between School Climate and Social Adaptation: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach

Abstract

This study explores the links between school climate, self-compassion, and social adaptation among Chinese secondary vocational students, focusing on self-compassion’s mediating role. A three-month longitudinal study ( N = 333; 33.3% male) with one-month intervals revealed downward mean slopes for school climate and social adaptation. Moreover, a significant negative correlation was observed between the initial level of self-compassion and its slope, indicating that students with higher initial self-compassion exhibited more stable trajectories. Both the intercept and slope of school climate positively predicted those of social adaptation. Additionally, initial baseline level of self-compassion mediated the relationship between school climate and social adaptation, whereas the mediation effect involving rates of change was non-significant. This suggests the importance of the initial level of environmental and personal resources rather than their short-term fluctuations. These results suggest interventions to improve school climate and foster self-compassion for better social and emotional development among secondary vocational students.