Mental health of Indonesian university students: U.K. comparison and relationship between mental health shame and self-compassion

Abstract

While the Indonesian higher education has been growing rapidly, poor student mental health including a high level of mental health shame is a cause for concern in Indonesia. This study aimed to evaluate their mental health, shame, and self-compassion. One hundred fifty six participants completed self-report measures regarding mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and stress), mental health shame (negative attitudes, and external, internal, and reflected shame), and self-compassion. Data were first compared with 145 U.K. students, then correlation and regression analyses were performed. Indonesian students showed higher levels of mental health problems, family-related mental health shame, and self-compassion than U.K. students. Each type of mental health problem and mental health shame were positively associated with each other. Self-compassion was negatively associated with mental health problems, but not with mental health shame. Self-compassion was consistently the strongest predictor of mental health problems. Among the mental health shame types, only family external shame predicted the level of depression. Self-compassion training and mental health education for their family are recommended to protect the mental health of university students in Indonesia. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)