Examination of High School Students' Compassion Levels According To Socio-Demographic Variables

Abstract

The aim of this study was examine high school students' compassion levels according to socio-demographic variables. The sample of this survey consisted of 460 high school students. The data was collected through Compassion Scale developed by Nas and Sak (2021) and analyzed through independent samples t-test and One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). As a result of the analysis, the level of compassion of high school students did not differ significantly in any sub-dimensions and in the total of the compassion scale based on their age, the number of siblings, what grade they were in, education level of their mother, working status of their mother and father, their birth order, and the type of high school (such as Anatolian high school, science high school) they attended. A significant difference was found in the sub-dimensions of compassion toward other people and compassion toward other living things, and in the overall total of the compassion scale based on their gender and if they got an achievement certificate. Also, a significant difference was found in the sub-dimension of compassion toward other people and in the total of the compassion scale based on education level of their fathers. In addition, a significant difference was found in the sub-dimension of compassion toward oneself based on the monthly income of their families. As a result, considering that compassion studies in the literature are generally carried out with adults and that participants of the current study were high school students, it can be stated that the study made a unique contribution to the literature. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.