Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an online self-compassion program on social anxiety among female university students experiencing maladaptive social anxiety. Participants included university students prone to maladaptive social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and self-focused attention. A total of 30 students were selected based on their scores on the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SADS) and were randomly assigned to either a treatment group (15 students) or a wait-control group (15 students). The online self-compassion program was administered over six sessions, each lasting 60 minutes and occurring twice a week. All participants in both the treatment and wait-control groups completed a pre-test, post-test, and a follow-up test three weeks later. The researcher utilized several measurement tools, including the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SADS), the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (B-FNES), the Scale for Dispositional Self-Focused Attention in Social Situations (SDSAS), and the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). The analysis revealed that the treatment group experienced a significant decrease in scores for social avoidance and distress, fear of negative evaluation, and self-focused attention in social situations compared to the wait-control group, with these effects maintained in the follow-up test. Additionally, the treatment group showed a significant increase in self-compassion scores relative to the wait-control group, and this improvement also persisted at follow-up. Finally, the study discusses its implications and offers suggestions for future research.