Examining the Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship Between Academic Failure and Psychological Resilience Among Nigerian University Students

Academic failure is a psychologically significant event for Nigerian university students, with consequences ranging from temporary distress to persistent mental health impairment, and self-compassion has been identified in international research as a key resilience-promoting resource in academic setback contexts. This study examines the role of self-compassion as a moderator in the relationship between academic failure experience and psychological resilience among undergraduates at three Nigerian universities in Imo State, South East Nigeria. A cross-sectional analytical design is applied to 310 students who self-reported academic failure (course failure or academic probation) in the previous two semesters, recruited through stratified voluntary sampling. The Self-Compassion Scale, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Academic Failure Impact Questionnaire are administered. Moderation analysis using PROCESS Macro v4 in SPSS tests the buffering hypothesis. Literature from South East Nigerian university psychology identifies self-criticism and shame as the dominant psychological responses to academic failure, with self-compassion demonstrating significant cross-cultural validity as a resilience buffer in Nigerian student samples. Neff's Self-Compassion Theory and Richardson's Resilience Theory provide the theoretical framework. This study fills an empirical gap in the self-compassion and resilience literature from Nigeria. Findings will inform university counselling centre programming and academic recovery support services in Imo State institutions. Keywords: self-compassion, academic failure, resilience, university students, Imo State.