Development and Validation of an Age-Appropriate Self-Compassionate Reactions Scale for Children (SCRS-C)

Abstract

Three studies were conducted to develop an age-appropriate scale to assess children’s self-compassionate reactions by using a vignette technique. In Study 1, a scale employing vignette technique was developed first based on self-compassion theory and interview with children. Next, based on further item analysis with 161 children, two items were eliminated and three were modified to form the Self-Compassionate Reactions Scale for Children (SCRS-C), including 4 vignettes and 24 items. In Study 2, serial CFAs (N = 637) were conducted to investigate the structure, factorial invariance, and equivalence across gender of the SCRS-C. The reliability, convergent and discriminate validity, and concurrent validity were also examined. Study 3 explored the test-retest reliability of the scale over 6 weeks (N = 77). A two second-order factor model (compassionate and uncompassionate reaction) with six first-order factors (self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness, self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification) was found to best fit the data. In addition, the factorial invariance of the second-order factor structure across gender was verified, and the internal consistency reliability was satisfactory. The scale showed satisfactory convergent, discriminate and concurrent validity and test-retest reliability. The SCRS-C shows promise as a reliable and valid scale of self-compassion suited for children aged 9–12 for both boys and girls.