Relationship of compassion for self and others to sense of well-being of college students.

Objective: The mental health issues among college students have increased significantly in recent years. The primary purpose of this study was to explore and describe the relationship between self-compassion, compassion for others, and a sense of well-being among undergraduate college students. Participants: This study surveyed N = 651 college students aged 18-24 years at an urban university in the Northeast. Methods: Students completed an online survey through Survey Monkey that was comprised of questions about their selfcompassion, compassion for others, and overall sense of well-being. Results: The results indicate that self-compassion, compassion for others, and sense of well-being are positively related. Exploratory tests for sex differences showed that females reported having significantly higher compassion for others while males reported having substantially higher self-compassion. Conclusion: The authors discuss the implications of the results and suggest a need for more compassion education programs at institutions of higher education. Suggestions are made for future experimental research that measures the impact of self-compassion and compassion for others, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic that impacted many college students' education, economy, relationships, and job prospects.

Sensitivity to violence measured by ratings of severity increases after nonviolence training.

It was hypothesized that training in nonviolence would increase participants' sensitivity to violence because such training emphasizes both the harm and the avoidability of many kinds of violence. This research built upon earlier studies, which had proposed that ratings of the severity of violent behaviors (e.g., murder, bullying, cursing) can be interpreted as measuring sensitivity to violence. Two quasi-experiments examined changes in ratings of severity obtained before and after nonviolence training. In Study 1, 28 college-age traffic offenders who received nonviolence training judged stimulus behaviors ranging from life-threatening physical harm to verbal disrespect as more violent after their training. An untrained comparison group did not show this change. In Study 2, 30 student teachers who received instruction in nonviolence also rated behaviors as more violent after training; an untrained comparison group did not. Results are interpreted as showing increased sensitivity to violence following exposure to nonviolence.