1 University of Texas at Austin.
2 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
3 Concordia University, Montreal.

Development and Validation of the Self-Compassion Scale for Youth.

J Pers Assess. 2020 Mar 03;:1-14

Authors: Neff KD, Bluth K, Tóth-Király I, Davidson O, Knox MC, Williamson Z, Costigan A

Abstract

We present a series of studies on the development and validation of the Self-Compassion Scale-Youth version (SCS-Y), which is intended for use with early adolescents in middle school. Study 1 (N?=?279, Mage = 12.17) describes the selection of 17 items out of a pool of 36 potential items, with three items each representing the subscales of self-kindness, mindfulness, common humanity, self-judgment, isolation, and two items representing over-identification. Using state-of-the-art psychometric analyses ideal for examining multidimensional constructs like self-compassion-bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling (bifactor-ESEM)-findings supported the use of a general self-compassion score and six subscale scores. Study 2 cross-validated the factor structure of the SCS-Y with a second sample of youths (N?=?402, Mage = 12.43). Study 3 found support for the test-retest reliability of the SCS-Y (N?=?102, Mage = 12.52). Study 4 (N?=?212, Mage = 12.18) established construct validity for the SCS-Y by demonstrating that SCS-Y scores were significantly associated with mindfulness, happiness, life-satisfaction, depression, resilience, and achievement goal orientation in expected directions. Overall, findings suggest that the SCS-Y is a reliable and valid measure of self-compassion for use with youths.

PMID: 32125190 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]