Principal Findings
This study investigated the efficacy of a self-guided, internet-based self-compassion training program to improve self-compassion and related mental health outcomes in young people living with chronic conditions. Outcomes of the participants in the self-compassion program were compared with outcomes of the participants in the waitlist control group, with posttest assessments conducted at 4 weeks and follow-up assessment at 12 weeks. Although the overall results demonstrated the benefits of the program on self-compassion and related well-being outcomes, not all outcomes were as expected. Nevertheless, the findings provide insights into the opportunities and challenges afforded by internet-based programs for young people with chronic conditions, and the baseline profiles of the participants underscore the need for targeted interventions designed for this group.In line with our hypothesis, improvements in self-compassion were demonstrated in the intervention group at the posttest time point and sustained at follow-up. These findings align with prior work demonstrating that self-compassion is a teachable skill [As hypothesized, there were intervention effects for improvements in adaptive coping at the posttest time point; however, these were not maintained at follow-up. Furthermore, no intervention effects were observed for emotion regulation difficulties or maladaptive coping, which are not consistent with emotion regulation theories of self-compassion [Another plausible reason for the lack of intervention effect on emotion regulation and maladaptive coping is that the duration of this program is too short to change emotion regulation difficulties that are slower to change, particularly when they are more complex or entrenched. Prior research has demonstrated that the impact of intervention dose on emotion regulation outcomes in adolescents is unclear [As hypothesized, intervention effects were observed for well-being and distress, with improvements maintained at follow-up. Mediation analyses suggested that these changes were driven in part by improvements in self-compassion, although there was no mediating effect of self-compassion on distress at follow-up. Observational studies have consistently documented larger effects for the relationship between self-compassion and distress than for the relationship between self-compassion and well-being [