The Moderating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship Between the use of Visual Media and Internalizing Pathological Symptoms in Adolescents

Background: In the face of mistakes and individual shortcomings, self-compassion defines a positive and loving attitude of a person towards her or himself. As a consequence of this compassionate mindset, it is believed that people with high self-compassion experience better control over pathological internalization. The aim of this study was to investigate the moderating role of self-compassion in the relationship between the use of visual media and internalization of pathological symptoms in adolescents in the academic year 2019-2020. Method: This study has a cross sectional and correlational research design. The statistical population included all high school students in Shiraz, Iran, who were randomly selected as a cluster of 300 students from educational areas one and two. To measure the studied variables, the questionnaire of self-compassion along with the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) were used. To analyze the data and hypotheses, review and compare the factors measured in students, Chi-square tests, Pearson correlation coefficient, and hierarchical regression were used at a significance level of 0.05. Results: According to the demographic data, 162 (49.40 %) of the sample were female and (48.46 %) were male. The results showed that the variables of self-compassion and body image concern play a moderating role in the relationship between the use of visual media and internalization of pathological symptoms (β=0.296). Conclusion: Self-compassion and body image concern play a significant moderating role in the relationship between the use of visual media and the internalization of pathological symptoms.