Frontiers | Shared variance in creative self-beliefs: examining self-compassion and personality traits in creative adolescents and adults

May 4, 2026 - 10:07

A new study published in the journal Frontiers explores how self-compassion and personality traits work together to shape creative self-beliefs in both adolescents and adults. The research, which examined shared variance in creative confidence, suggests that being kind to oneself may be just as important as having a "creative personality" when it comes to believing in one's own creative abilities.

The study looked at how stable personality traits like openness to experience, conscientiousness, and extraversion interact with the psychological resource of self-compassion. Researchers found that these factors share significant common ground in predicting how individuals view their own creativity. In other words, a person who is both open-minded and self-compassionate is more likely to have strong creative self-beliefs than someone who only has one of those qualities.

Interestingly, the findings held true across different age groups, indicating that the relationship between personality, self-compassion, and creative confidence is consistent from adolescence through adulthood. This suggests that interventions aimed at boosting creative self-beliefs might benefit from focusing on both personality development and practices that enhance self-compassion, such as mindfulness and self-kindness.

For educators and parents, the study implies that encouraging a supportive inner voice could be a practical way to help young people feel more confident in their creative potential, regardless of their natural personality tendencies. The research adds a new layer to understanding creativity, moving beyond just talent or personality to include how we treat ourselves when we try, fail, and try again.