In The Kurdistan.

Psychological Flow and its Relationship with Self-Compassion Among Retirees in the Kurdistan

Choman sabah Saeed, Kadhim Zrar Ahmed, Jinan Hadi Khalid

Psychological flow and self-compassion are regarded as contemporary concepts in psychology that aim to strengthen the positive side of personality. Psychological flow is considered a positive subjective experience that occurs when individuals become fully immersed in contemplation or problem solving, to the extent that they lose awareness of themselves while performing tasks and activities related to those challenges. This state is escorted by feelings of enjoyment, satisfaction, and fulfillment, enabling individuals to appreciate the meaning of life and experience a calmer and more harmonious existence (Gharib, 2015, p.295). The researchers relied on the descriptive method and employed two instruments: the Psychological Flow Scale, consisting of 19 items, and the Self-Compassion Scale, consisting of 37 items. The study population comprised retired employees from all government ministries. The study sample included 387 retirees, of whom 240 were males and 147 were females. After establishing the psychometric properties of the instruments, including validity and reliability, the scales were administered to the participants. The collected data were then statistically analyzed. The findings showed that the participants demonstrated a high and statistically significant level of both psychological flow and self-compassion. Significant differences were found according to gender, favoring males in both variables. Regarding age, participants aged 39–48 years exhibited the highest level of psychological flow, whereas those aged 69–78 years showed the highest level of self-compassion. Significant differences were also observed according to economic status. Also statistically significant correlation was found between psychological flow and self-compassion among the participants. The results indicated that psychological flow could be significantly predicted by self-compassion as an overall construct.