Abi Fa'izzarahman Prabawa, Nur Hidayah, Henny Indreswari, Adi Atmoko, M. Ramli, Eni Rindi Antika, Salwa Mahalle
Suicidal ideation (SI) represents a serious and complex mental health concern, particularly prevalent among adolescents and young adults. Despite extensive identification of various psychosocial risk factors, such as depression, anxiety, and stress, the role of positive psychological factors, especially self-compassion, remains inadequately explored. This study examines the impact of different dimensions of self-compassion—including self-kindness, mindfulness, common humanity, over-identification, self-judgement, and isolation—on suicidal ideation in a predominantly female young adult population. Furthermore, this research controls for gender in examining the relationship between the dimensions of self-compassion and suicidal ideation. Employing a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 1,011 respondents aged between 18 and 25 years through random sampling using an online platform (Google Forms). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to explore the individual contributions of the dimensions of self-compassion to the variance in suicidal ideation while controlling for gender. The results indicated that the multidimensional self-compassion model significantly accounted for 26.7% of the variance in suicidal ideation. Among the dimensions analyzed, over-identification, self-judgement, and isolation significantly predicted increased risk of SI, while self-kindness significantly contributed to reducing SI. Mindfulness and common humanity, however, did not yield significant contributions in predicting suicidal ideation within the current sample. Gender-specific patterns were also observed, demonstrating greater vulnerability in females toward dimensions, such as over-identification and self-judgement. These findings underscore the importance of addressing negative aspects of self-compassion in preventive interventions targeting suicidal ideation, particularly among females. The results advocate for comprehensive self-compassion-based therapeutic interventions, including Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and cybercounseling, to enhance psychological resilience and mitigate social isolation. Future research should further investigate the mediating and moderating variables influencing the self-compassion–suicidal ideation relationship, considering diverse sociocultural and demographic contexts. Incorporating these insights into tailored mental health strategies can significantly enhance suicide prevention efforts among young adult populations. © Copyright (c) 2026 The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Department of Guidance and Counseling, Faculty of Science Education, State University of Malang, Indonesia; Guidance and Counseling Study Program, Faculty of Science Education and Psychology, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia; Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam
