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The interplay between emotional well-being, self-compassion, and basic psychological needs in adolescents

Authors: Sara Cruz,Mariana Sousa,Manuela Peixoto,Ana Meireles,Sofia Marques,Sara Faria,Paulo Moreira
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Publish date: 2024-2-14
ISSN: 0267-3843 DOI: 10.1080/02673843.2024.2318340
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While the study presents a well-structured mediation model linking self-compassion, emotional well-being, and basic psychological needs, a critical issue lies in the interpretation and generalization of its findings. The sample is overwhelmingly composed of 12–13-year-olds (89% of participants), yet the study reports conclusions as though they apply to adolescents broadly, across the entire 12–18 age range. This is methodologically problematic. The psychological constructs under investigation, particularly emotional well-being and need satisfaction, are developmentally sensitive and known to vary substantially between early, middle, and late adolescence. Despite this, the authors neither stratify their analysis by age nor test whether the mediation model holds across different adolescent stages. As such, the reported effects, most notably the indirect effect of self-compassion on basic psychological needs via emotional well-being, are valid only for early adolescents, yet are inappropriately generalized to older groups. This undermines the internal validity of the conclusions and introduces a serious interpretative flaw in the study as published.

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