MINDFUL SELF-CARE DIMENSIONS AS AGENTS OF WELL-BEING FOR STUDENTS IN MENTAL HEALTH FIELDS

The purpose of the study was to examine the role of mindful self-care along with the sub-dimensions of physical care, supportive relationships, mindful awareness, self-compassion and purpose, mindful relaxation, and supportive structure in predicting well-being levels of students attending to mental health programs. A total of 262 undergraduate students (191 female, 71 male) within the departments of psychological counseling and guidance and psychology formed the sample group. The mean age of the participants was 20.31 (SD=1.45). The data were obtained through Mindful Self-care Scale (Cook-Cottone and Guyker 2018) and The Well Star Scale (Korkut-Owen, Doğan, Demirbaş-Çelik and Owen, 2016). The results of multiple linear regression analysis yielded that all of the mindful self-care dimensions significantly predict well-being. Regarding the contribution of each self-care dimension on well-being scores; supportive structure has the highest contribution followed by self-compassion and purpose, supportive relationships, mindful awareness, physical care and mindful relaxation. In addition, mindful self-care was found to explain 39% of the variance of the well-being scores in candidate mental health professionals.