Perfectionism and digital stress: The mediating roles of body self-compassion and self-hate

197 Psychology Research on Education and Social Sciences, 6(4), 197-209, Dec. 2025 e-ISSN: 2717-7602 dergipark.org.tr/press Genc Bilge Publishing Ltd. (Young Wise) © 2025 gencbilgeyayincilik.com Research Article Perfectionism and digital stress: The mediating roles of body self-compassion and self-hate Burcu Büge 1*, Rumeysa Sena Resuloğlu, Betül Nur Çort, Ebrar Oğuz, and Emine Gül Topçu Department of Psychology, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Istanbul, Türkiye Article Info Abstract Received: 9 October 2025 Accepted: 7 December 2025 Online: 30 December 2025 Keywords: Body self-compassion Digital stress Perfectionism Self-hate 2717-7602/ © 2025 by PRESS. Published by Genc Bilge (Young Wise) Pub. Ltd. This is an open access article under CC BY-NC-ND license This study investigated how perfectionism, body self-compassion, and self-hate contribute to digital stress, with a particular focus on the mechanisms underlying these associations. The sample consisted of 408 adults (353 females, 55 males) aged 18–65 who completed validated measures of perfectionism, digital stress, self-hate, and body selfcompassion. A quantitative approach was adopted, and the data were analyzed in SPSS using correlation, regression, and mediation analyses. Correlational analyses indicated that perfectionism and self-hate were positively associated with digital stress, whereas body self-compassion was negatively associated. Regression analyses demonstrated that perfectionism was the strongest positive predictor of digital stress, followed by body selfcompassion as a significant negative predictor, while self-hate emerged as a weaker predictor. Parallel mediation analyses further revealed that the effect of perfectionism on digital stress was partially mediated by body self-compassion, whereas the indirect effect of self-hate was small and statistically unstable. These findings demonstrate the role of body self-compassion as a protective factor in reducing the impact of perfectionism on digital stress. To better understand and improve digital stress, it is recommended that future studies examine its relationship with various variables; moreover, expanding such research to include individuals from different languages, religions, and ethnicities would significantly enhance the generalizability and practical usefulness of the findings. To cite this article Büge, B., Resuloğlu, R.S., Çort, B.N., Oğuz, E., and Topçu, E.G. (2025). Perfectionism and digital stress: The mediating roles of body self-compassion and self-hate. Psychology Research on Education and Social Sciences, 6(4), 197-209. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17845753 Introduction According to Kaba (2019), stress is an essential aspect of aging and day-to-day living, in addition to having a detrimental impact on people’s lives. A person may acquire chronic illness and endure behavioral, emotional, psychological, and physical issues because of everyday stress exposure (Kaba, 2019). The term digital stress describes the worry and tension brought on by using social media and mobile phones, among other information and communication technologies (Yang & Smith, 2024). According to Özyılmaz (2021), employees’ mental health is negatively impacted by the modern business environment since digitalization brings about rapid change and innovation in all spheres of life. It has a significant impact on businesses and the workplace, which causes stress on processes and outcomes as well as acceleration, increased abstraction, flexibility, and complexity (Özyılmaz, 2021). As reported by Steele and colleagues (2020), there are several different kinds of digital stress, such as availability stress, which is the feeling that one must always be available and responsive through digital media, approval anxiety, which is the worry about how other people will perceive or react to 1 Corresponding Author: Asst. Prof., Department of Psychology, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Istanbul, Türkiye, Email: [email protected] ORCID: 0009-0006-3443-3121. Büge at al Psychology Research on Education and Social Sciences 6(4) (2025) 197-209 198 one’s posts, fear of missing out, which is the distress of not being a part of other people’s fulfilling social experiences, connection overload, which is the feeling of being overloaded with information from digital media, and online vigilance, which is the intense and compelling need to access one’s digital devices (Steele et al., 2020). As mentioned by Przybylski and colleagues (2013), it was recently proposed that one of the key mechanisms explaining the impact of social media on well-being would be fear of missing out, or a pervasive concern that others may have rewarding experiences that one does not have. According to some scientists, social media platforms could be a new way for people to perceive stress (Fox & Moreland, 2015). Social media is frequently used by those who do not have many offline connections to get social satisfaction, which might worsen depressive symptoms and encourage smartphone addiction (Towner et al., 2022). Being overly enthusiastic about oneself in all performance-oriented tasks, paying close attention to details, being exceedingly sensitive and dedicated to the behavior and goal, and being careful and economical in one’s actions are all characteristics of perfectionism (Pfohl et al., 2009). To put it another way, the drive to meet extremely high standards, excessive self-criticism when expectations are not fulfilled, and high degrees of pain when mistakes are made are all characteristics of perfectionism, a multifaceted personality trait (Sirois & Molnar, 2017; Stoeber & Otto, 2006). Perfectionists frequently notice differences between their idealized and real appearances, which may make them less appreciative of their bodies (O’Connor et al., 2024). According to Hewitt and colleagues (2002), perfectionism is conceptualized as a multidimensional tendency. It demonstrates that those with greater levels of self-critical and inflexible perfectionism are more sensitive to inferiority complexes (Wyatt & Gilbert, 1998). While mild to moderate perfectionism can promote conscientiousness and constructive self-improvement (adaptive perfectionism), perfectionism is maladaptive when its objectives are so lofty that they lead to rigid thinking and unachievable standards (Hicks & Kenny, 2014). Maladaptive perfectionism reflects the discrepancy between one’s performance and standards (Slaney et al., 2001). While adaptive perfectionism concentrates on achievement and aims for more positive feelings, maladaptive perfectionism is typified by self-criticism, worry over errors, and unfavorable assessments of others (Stoeber & Otto, 2006). Zaremohzzabieh and colleagues (2024) found that when people with higher levels of maladaptive perfectionism were more emotionally attached to their digital data, they were more likely to engage in digital hoarding. That study examined the digital hoarding behaviors of university students in the context of maladaptive perfectionism (Zaremohzzabieh et al., 2024). The ease with which social media has entered our lives, its features of rapid interaction and reaching large audiences show that it has caused young people to feel the pressure of perfectionism and the desire to be flawless, and this situation is further reinforced by the fear of being criticized or embarrassed (Taydaş & İldız, 2022). For instance, looking at good Instagram postings from unidentified people decreased the beneficial impact (de Vries et al., 2017) and higher levels of stress and anxiety have been connected to social media users’ perfectionistic self-presentations (Hellmann, 2016). Self-compassion is the concept that gives a person the ability to cope with emotional distress, inadequacy, and failure (Neff, 2023). Koutra and colleagues (2023) found that higher levels of maladaptive perfectionism were linked to lower levels of self-compassion, which in turn led to higher increases in psychological distress. The study looked at the effects of both positive and negative perspectives of perfectionism on digital stress in adults within the context of selfcompassion. Since perfectionism and self-compassion are related, it has been found that even individuals with perfectionist personalities who have high levels of self-compassion will be less critical of themselves, which will lessen their negative effects as body image dissatisfaction declines (Koutra et al., 2023). Body perception is a multifaceted notion that includes a person’s attitudes toward their physical self or body (Cash, 2004). In this general framework, body self-compassion serves as a bridge between the concepts of body perception and self-compassion. According to Altman and colleagues (2020), body self-compassion encompasses an individual’s sentiments about his or her physical self as well as their body-related satisfaction and suffering. The term “body self-compassion” describes how a person feels about his or her physical self, including the pleasures and discomforts that come with it (Neff, 2003). When faced with failure or Büge at al Psychology Research on Education and Social Sciences 6(4) (2025) 197-209 199 challenging circumstances, those who practice self-compassion treat themselves with love rather than harsh criticism. A person who practices self-compassion can be compassionate toward themselves, cultivate a compassionate outlook on their body and themselves, get a nonjudgmental awareness of their flaws, and strengthen their ability to react to stressors or environmental hazards (Ferreira et al., 2013). Being successful or feeling better than others is not necessary for people with high self-compassion to feel good about themselves (Çetiner & Çelikkaleli, 2023). Previous research suggests that maladaptive perfectionism is negatively related to body image satisfaction (Barnett & Sharp, 2016). A study of British female university students found that participants exposed to photos of fit women had lower body satisfaction and mood than those who saw photos containing only positive statements. These findings suggest that self-compassion can reduce the negative effects of social comparisons and positively influence body image (Slater et al., 2017). Social media information that portrayed unrealistic beauty standards reduced women’s self-compassion, particularly for those who previously struggled with body acceptance. By encouraging more accepting ideas about themselves, on the other hand, women’s state self-compassion was raised when they viewed body-positive social media content (Rutter et al., 2024). Brown and Tiggemann (2016) determined that exposure to attractive photos of celebrities or their peers was associated with higher levels of body dissatisfaction than exposure to neutral travel photos in a study of female university students in Australia. They also found that making appearance comparisons was a mediating variable in this relationship (Brown & Tiggemann, 2016). Another concept that is seen to be related to the antithesis of body self-compassion is self-hate (Rubin, 1975). Hate is an emotion that is ingrained in human nature, despite its negative characteristics. Knowing a person’s level of self-hate is vital for determining their emotional condition (Barrett et al., 2008; Gawda, 2010). However, self-hate is a persistently negative and damaging assessment of oneself that makes one feel inadequate and unworthy and draws attention to one’s shortcomings (Turnell et al., 2019). Self-hate may show up as perfectionism and self-importance, as well as a persistent sense of unworthiness, lack, and failure (Rubin, 1975). Self-hate, according to Turnell and colleagues (2019), is a chronic dysfunctional and destructive self-evaluation that is typified by the attribution of undesirable and defective qualities as well as the failure to meet perceived standards and values, which results in feelings of worthlessness, inadequacy, and incompetence. In addition to mental agitation, low self-esteem, humiliation, self-blame, or guilt are characteristics of high degrees of self-hate, which can result in severe, frequently intolerable psychological and emotional upheaval (Turnell et al., 2019). This study aims to examine the relationship between perfectionism, body self-compassion, self-hate and digital stress. Today, with the acceleration of digitalization, individuals are exposed to a constant evaluation and comparison process through social media and digital platforms. This situation can significantly affect individuals’ self-perceptions and psychological well-being. It is thought that individuals with perfectionist tendencies may experience more stress in the face of idealized standards in the digital world. Aesthetic standards, body image pressures and criticisms received through social media in the digital environment can be internalized in different ways depending on the level of self-compassion of individuals. It can be thought that individuals with high body self-compassion can cope with digital stress more healthily and protect themselves better from negative content. In contrast, it is predicted that individuals with high levels of self-hate may become more vulnerable to elements such as criticism, comparison and exclusion brought about by the digital world. The individual’s negative thoughts towards himself/herself can make the experiences experienced during social media use more stressful and exhausting. Therefore, the aim of this research is to understand the relationship between the concepts of perfectionism, body self-compassion, self-hate and digital stress and an investigation of mediating effects will be performed to investigate how perfectionism influences digital stress through the intermediaries of body self-compassion and self-hate. The mediator effect analysis will contribute theoretically to the literature by explaining the mechanisms underlying the relationship between perfectionism and digital stress and aims to offer practical recommendations for developing interventions focused on body self-compassion and self-hate to raise awareness about these concepts. Büge at al Psychology Research on Education and Social Sciences 6(4) (2025) 197-209 200 Method Research Model This study was designed within a quantitative, correlational research model to investigate how perfectionism, body selfcompassion, and self-hate contribute to digital stress. The model posits that perfectionism directly predicts digital stress and that this relationship is partially mediated by body self-compassion and self-hate. Specifically, higher levels of perfectionism are expected to increase digital stress both directly and indirectly through lower body self-compassion and higher self-hate. Accordingly, perfectionism was included as the independent variable, digital stress as the dependent variable, and body self-compassion and self-hate as parallel mediators. The hypothesized model guided the selection of statistical analyses, which included correlation and regression analyses, as well as parallel mediation testing through bootstrapping procedures. Participants The study sample consisted of 408 adults (353 women, 86.5%; 55 men, 13.5%) between the ages of 18 and 65, all residing in Turkey. Participants completed the Demographic Information Form, The Big Three Perfectionism Scale, Multidimensional Digital Stress Scale, The Self-Hate Scale and The Body-Compassion Scale. An informed consent statement was presented at the beginning of the questionnaire, informing participants of their right to withdraw from the study at any time. The sample characteristics and demographics are shown in Table 1. Table 1. Sample characteristics and demographics (N = 408) Variable N (%) Gender Male 55 (13.5) Female 353 (86.5) Age Group 18-25 281 (68.9) 26-54 108 (26.5) 55-65 19 (4.6) Number of siblings 0 16 (3.9) 1 107 (26.2) 2 127 (31.1) 3 85 (20.9) 4 33 (8.1) 5+ 40 (9.8) Education No formal education 0 Primary school 10 (2.5) Secondary school 8 (2) High school 71 (17.5) Bachelor’s degree 298 (73.1) Master’s degree 20 (4.9) Relationship status Single 299 (73.3) Married 103 (25.2) Divorced 6 (1.5) Total income 020.000 ₺ 29 (7.1) 20.00150.000 ₺ 130 (31.9) 50.00170.000 ₺ 116 (28.4) 70.001100.000 ₺ 76 (18.6) Over 100.000 ₺ 57 (14) Economic status Low 26 (6.4) Büge at al Psychology Research on Education and Social Sciences 6(4) (2025) 197-209 201 Variable N (%) Low middle 57 (14) Middle 239 (58.6) Middle-high 76 (18.6) High 10 (2.4) Procedure and Data Collection Before starting this study, an application was made to Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University Research Ethics Committee for ethical approval. Permission to use each scale was obtained from the respective authors via e-mail. In this study, quantitative methods were used in data collection. The surveys were distributed to participants via Google form, QR code, or paper format, depending on their accessibility circumstances. Demographic Information Form It consisted of questions about the participants’ gender, age, number of siblings, educational status, marital status, average monthly income, and economic status. The Big Three Perfectionism Scale-Short Form Feher and colleagues (2019) developed the Big Three Perfectionism Scale. Kaçar-Başaran and colleagues (2022) adapted the 16-item short form (BTPS-SF) to Turkish. The Turkish short form consists of 16 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) and assesses three dimensions of perfectionism (rigid perfectionism, selfcritical perfectionism, and narcissistic perfectionism). Total scores range from 16 to 80. Multidimensional Digital Stress Scale The scale consists of 24 items and five factors: Accessibility Stress (items 1–4), Approval Anxiety (items 5–10), Fear of Missing Out (items 11–14), Connection Overload (items 15–20), and Online Vigilance (items 21–24) (Hall et al., 2021; Erinç, 2023). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), with higher scores indicating greater digital stress. The Self-Hate Scale Turnell and colleagues (2019) created and validated this brief self-report tool for self-hate, and Büge and Bilge (2022) translated this scale into Turkish. The scale employs a 7-point Likert-type scale and has seven items. The range of scores that may be derived from the scale is 7 to 49. Büge and Bilge (2022) study, the internal consistency of the scale was found to be 0.88 and the test-retest reliability was found to be 0.86 using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The translated version of the scale was found to be equivalent to the original form, as a strong positive correlation was found between the scores of the Turkish and English questionnaires (r = .99, p < .001). The Body Self-Compassion Scale This scale was designed by Altman and colleagues (2020) to assess individuals’ sensitivity, understanding, and compassionate attitudes towards their bodies. It was adapted to Turkish by Dönmez and Çelikkaleli (2021). The scale is a 5-point Likert-type measurement tool consisting of 21 items and 3 sub-dimensions (Separation, Common human values, Bodily acceptance). It is calculated as never = 1, always = 5. Items in the “Separation” sub-dimension (reverse scored items): 1-2-3-4-5-10-11-13-14, items in the “Body Acceptance” sub-dimension: 6-7-8-12-21, items in the “Common Human Values” sub-dimension: 9-15-16-17-18-19-20. Between 21 and 105 are the possible scores that can be received via the measurement tool. In Dönmez and Çelikkaleli (2021) research, the Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient was found to be .88, and a significant difference (27%) was found between the lower and upper groups for all items. Test-retest results obtained from 41 adults showed a moderate correlation between the two measurements (rho = .65, p <0.01). The findings indicate that this scale has psychometric values in a Turkish adult sample. Büge at al Psychology Research on Education and Social Sciences 6(4) (2025) 197-209 202 Data Analysis All statistical analyses in this study were performed using SPSS version 25. A p-value of .05 was considered the threshold for statistical significance. The minimum sample size required for the planned analyses was determined using G*Power 3.1 (Faul et al., 2009). For multiple regression (fixed model, R² ≠ 0) with three predictors (perfectionism, body selfcompassion, and self-hate), assuming a medium effect size (f² = .15), α = .05, and power (1-β) = .80, the analysis indicated a required minimum of N = 46 participants. For the correlation analyses, assuming a medium effect size (r = .30), α = .05, and power (1-β) = .80, the minimum required sample size was N = 84 participants. Although regression and parallel mediation analyses would statistically require fewer participants, the present study recruited a total of 408 individuals, ensuring adequate statistical power and robustness of the findings. The relationships between perfectionism, body selfcompassion, self-hate, and digital stress were examined through correlation and regression analyses. In addition, parallel mediation analyses were conducted to test the indirect effects of self-hate and body self-compassion on the association between perfectionism and digital stress, using bootstrapping procedures with 5000 resamples and 95% confidence intervals to determine the significance of indirect effects (Hayes, 2018). Prior to conducting each statistical test, all necessary assumptions were examined and confirmed to be satisfied. Results A positive and significant relationship was found between self-hate and perfectionism (r = .337, p < .001). A negative and significant relationship was found between body self-compassion and perfectionism (r = -.337, p < .001). In addition, a positive and significant relationship was found between digital stress and perfectionism (r = .445, p < .001). When self-hate and other variables were examined, a strong negative relationship was observed with body selfcompassion (r = -.539, p < .001); and a positive relationship was observed with digital stress (r = .338, p < .001). Finally, a moderate negative and significant relationship was found between body self-compassion and digital stress (r = -.395, p < .001). These correlation results are presented in Table 2. Table 2. Pearson correlation results of study variables (N = 408) Variables 1 2 3 4 M SD 1. Perfectionism — 46.43 10.71 2. Self-hate .34*** — 14.63 8.57 3. Body self-compassion -.34*** -.54*** — 72.39 13.95 4. Digital stress .45*** .34*** -.40*** — 60.60 16.92 *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001 In the models created with the stepwise regression method, perfectionism alone explained 20% of the variance of digital stress (Model 1). In the second model, the body self-compassion variable was added and the explained variance increased to 26%. With the inclusion of the self-hate variable in the third model, the explained variance increased to 27%. Overall, all three models were statistically significant (see Table 3). Büge at al Psychology Research on Education and Social Sciences 6(4) (2025) 197-209 203 Table 3. Hierarchical multiple regression predicting digital stress (N = 408) Model Variable B SE β R² ΔR² t 1 Constant 27.96 3.34 .20 .20 8.36*** Perfectionism 0.70 0.07 .45 10.01*** 2 Constant 59.04 6.01 .26 .06 9.82*** Perfectionism 0.56 0.07 .35 7.78*** Body self-compassion -0.34 0.06 -.28 -6.11*** 3 Constant 53.02 6.69 .27 .01 7.92*** Perfectionism 0.53 0.07 .33 7.26*** Body self-compassion -0.28 0.06 -.23 -4.41*** Self-hate 0.20 0.10 .10 2.01* *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001 A parallel mediation analysis (PROCESS Model 4) was conducted to examine whether self-hate and body selfcompassion mediated the relationship between perfectionism and digital stress. As shown in Figure 1, perfectionism was positively associated with self-hate (β = .27, p < .001) and negatively associated with body self-compassion (β = −.44, p < .001). In turn, self-hate was positively related to digital stress (β = .20, p = .045), whereas body self-compassion was negatively related to digital stress (β = −.27, p < .001). Figure 1. Parallel mediation model of self-hate and body self-compassion in the relationship between perfectionism and digital stress The indirect effect of perfectionism on digital stress through self-hate was small and not statistically significant, as the 95% bootstrap confidence interval included zero (β = .055, 95% CI [−.005, .115]; see Table 4). In contrast, the indirect effect of body self-compassion was significant (β = .121, 95% CI [.057, .197]). The direct effect of perfectionism on digital stress remained strong and significant after including the mediators (β = .33, p < .001), suggesting partial mediation. Büge at al Psychology Research on Education and Social Sciences 6(4) (2025) 197-209 204 Table 4. Parallel mediation analysis of self-hate and body self-compassion in the relationship between perfectionism and digital stress Path B SE β t p Perfectionism → Self-Hate 0.27 0.04 .27 7.21 < .001 Perfectionism → Body Self-Compassion -0.44 0.06 -.44 -7.21 < .001 Self-Hate → Digital Stress 0.20 0.10 .20 2.01 .045 Body Self-Compassion → Digital Stress -0.27 0.06 -.27 -4.41 < .001 Perfectionism → Digital Stress (direct) 0.53 0.07 .33 7.26 < .001 Indirect via Self-Hate - - .055 - 95% CI [−.005, .115] Indirect via Body Self-Compassion - - .121 - 95% CI [.057, .197] Discussion In this study, the relationship between perfectionism, body self-compassion, self-hate and digital stress was investigated. Correlation analysis revealed significant relationships between the variables. A positive and significant relationship was found between self-hate and perfectionism. This finding suggests that individuals with high self-hate exhibit increased perfectionist attitudes. These findings indicate that a person's perfectionist attitude can lead to increased self-hate due to the discrepancy between their ideal of being perfect and reality. A negative and significant relationship was found between body self-compassion and perfectionism. This finding suggests that as perfectionism increases, body compassion decreases. Individuals with higher body self-compassion tend to report lower perfectionist attitudes. Furthermore, a positive and significant relationship was found between digital stress and perfectionism. Based on this result, it was observed that as perfectionism increases, digital stress also increases. Therefore, reducing perfectionist attitudes may help reduce comparisons and opposing views that contribute to digital stress. A strong and negative relationship was found between self-hate and body self-compassion. This result strongly suggests that body selfcompassion decreases with increasing self-hate. One way to reduce the intense self-hate individuals feel toward themselves is to increase their understanding of compassion toward their bodies. A positive correlation was found between self-hate and digital stress. It can be inferred that as self-hate increases, so does digital stress. Another factor that contributes to reducing digital stress is individuals’ efforts to decrease their self-hate. The analysis demonstrated that a negative and significant correlation was found between body self-compassion and digital stress. It was concluded that increased body self-compassion decreases digital stress. These results provide insight into some of the psychological factors that influence digital stress; however, causal relationships cannot be asserted. This study highlights the importance of individuals' attitudes toward themselves and their bodies in the impact of digital stress in today's world. Overall, the present study contributes to literature by simultaneously examining the interrelationships among perfectionism, self-hate, body self-compassion, and digital stress. These results emphasize the potential value of interventions aimed at reducing perfectionism and self-hate, while promoting body self-compassion, as strategies to alleviate digital stress. Hierarchical regression analyses conducted in this study showed that perfectionism was the strongest predictor of digital stress. Together, these three variables explained approximately 27% of the variance in digital stress. Perfectionism emerged as the most dominant risk factor, whereas body self-compassion functioned as the strongest protective factor. When body self-compassion was added to the second model, the explained variance increased significantly, indicating the protective effect of self-compassion on digital stress. Consequently, perfectionism was the strongest predictor, followed by body self-compassion, and self-hate made the smallest contribution. The statistical significance of all models suggests that the variables made significant contributions to digital stress. Büge at al Psychology Research on Education and Social Sciences 6(4) (2025) 197-209 205 Parallel mediation analyses support these results. The findings indicate that perfectionism affects digital stress indirectly, primarily through body self-compassion, whereas the indirect path via self-hate was small and statistically unstable. Higher levels of perfectionism were associated with greater self-hate and lower body self-compassion. However, these findings indicate a partial mediating role primarily for body self-compassion, whereas the mediating role of self-hate was small and statistically unstable. These results hold significance from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The prominence of body self-compassion as a protective factor suggests that self-compassionfocused interventions can be effective in coping with digital stress (Keutler & McHugh, 2021). Practically, the findings suggest that self-compassion-focused interventions and psychological support aimed at reducing perfectionism may be effective in coping with digital stress. Likewise, psychological support programs targeting self-hate may contribute to alleviating the stress individuals experience in digital environments. Although self-hate was positively associated with both perfectionism and digital stress, its indirect effect as a mediator was small and statistically unstable, as the confidence interval included zero; therefore, its mediating role should be interpreted with caution. Overall, the findings suggest that perfectionistic tendencies are a significant source of digital stress, while self-compassion serves as a buffer against this relationship. Taydaş and İldız (2022) found that social media has a significant impact on perfectionism. The fear of being judged or shamed for every action leads individuals to believe they are responsible for being perfect (Taydaş & İldız, 2022). According to research by Çetiner and Çelikkaleli (2023), maladaptive perfectionism has a significant and negative direct effect on the self-compassion of university students. This study further reported that maladaptive perfectionism significantly undermines the self-compassion of university students. Another study by Büge and Bilge (2022) found a positive relationship between depression, anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, self-hate, self-disgust, behavioral self-disgust, and physical appearance self-disgust, and a negative relationship between self-hate and self-compassion (Büge & Bilge, 2022). In the present study, a strong and significant relationship was found between self-hate and body self-compassion as distinct variables. The negative correlation between perfectionism and body self-compassion, along with its relatively weak but significant association with self-hate, suggests that individuals who set high internal standards may experience psychological distress. It can be predicted that people who develop a positive body image, despite the exclusion, comparison, and criticism of social media, are better able to cope with digital stress (Rutter et al., 2024). Researchers are beginning to view selfcompassion as a moderator or buffer of the links between unpleasant self-feelings and distressing experiences (Leary et al., 2007). Research suggests that higher levels of self-compassion are linked to reduced body dissatisfaction (Ferreira et al., 2013). Homan and Tylka's (2015) study found that individuals high in self-compassion are less affected by the negative associations between body admiration, frequency of body-related social comparisons, and beauty-based selfesteem, even when comparing their appearance to social beauty norms. This may reduce the likelihood of engaging in self-criticism and experiencing body dissatisfaction (Homan & Tylka, 2015). The positive relationship between digital stress and perfectionism is consistent with findings that perfectionistic attitudes in social media use increase self-criticism and psychological distress (Varaona et al., 2023). According to Patchin and Hinduja (2017), youth who engage in digital self-harm activities appear to have higher levels of self-hate, which in turn leads to digital stress. It has been shown that increased digital engagement leads to feelings of inadequacy, which in turn leads to increased self-hate and stress (Pazer, 2024). This is another factor contributing to individuals making negative comments about their own bodies and the bodies of others on social media. While few studies in literature have examined these variables together, the contribution of the present study lies in its simultaneous investigation of the multiple relationships among perfectionism, self-hate, body self-compassion, and digital stress. Conclusion This study investigated the effects of perfectionism, body self-compassion, and self-hate on digital stress. This study contributes to understanding the psychosocial challenges individuals face in today's increasingly digitalized world. The