Assessing existential regret and meaning in life: The role of childhood trauma and the mediating effect of self-compassion

Existential regret is an eminently subjective experience and a relatively a new term in literature, which can be hard to point out the reasons behind it or how individuals experience it. Likewise, meaning in life is a subjective phenomenon that individuals need to search and find in their lives, on their own. The present study examined the role of childhood trauma on existential regret and meaning in life with the mediating effect of self-compassion. The sample consisted of 382 university students between the ages of 18 to 35 from all over Turkey. The findings of the present study showed that childhood trauma is a significant predictor of existential regret and the presence of meaning in life whereas self-compassion partially mediates both relationships. Further, the present study showed that there are significant differences in experiences of existential regret between males and females, and the presence of meaning in life differences between different age groups. However, the present study did not find a significant relationship between childhood trauma and the search for meaning in life. Future studies can examine and compare the differences in experiencing existential regret between different age groups.