Compassion Scale Research Articles

An investigation of the relationship between intercultural sensitivity and compassion in nurses

This study aims to investigate the relationship between intercultural sensitivity and compassion levels in nurses. A cross-sectional relational study was conducted. It was conducted with the participation of 134 volunteer nurses who worked in Family Health Centers (FHCs) and the State Hospital in a city located in the eastern part of Turkey between April and June, 2017. Data were collected through the Socio-Demographic Characteristics Form, the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale, and the Compassion Scale. A significant, positive relationship was found between the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale and Compassion Scale mean scores (p<0.001). It is recommended that moving nursing profession to a better position in the globalised world and providing quality patient care could be achieved through trainings on compassion and intercultural sensitivity given in undergraduate or postgraduate education programs. Concepts of intercultural sensitivity and compassion were found to affect each other directly.

Contextualized Contribution of Kindness to Favorable Goal- and Circumstantial-Driven Neuropsychological Regulation.

Kindness involves care and non-judgmental understanding toward someone. As a prosocial inclination, kindness would increase the possibility of favorable interaction with the environment, with a successful adjustment of one's response in novel or challenging circumstances, taking into account rules or goals. This adjustment ability is commonly referred to as executive functions, dependent on the prefrontal and parietal functioning, still under development during late adolescence. This study aimed to investigate if kindness would relate with the executive functions. If so, it would correlate more with measures of self-regulation, mainly dependent on the medial prefrontal corticosubcortical circuits. Also, among self-regulating processes, kindness would be more associated with autonomic responses—choices guided by one's understanding/intention - than with adaptive responses—changes on one's choices triggered by unfavorable circumstances. A sample of 46 (31 female; 18 to 21 years-old) healthy college students from the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro attended a clinical interview and a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Kindness was measured by the Compassion Scale subscore. Generalized non-linear models for each neuropsychological variable were executed on R, followed by an estimation of weighted parameters for each factor. Significant models which included kindness (weighted parameter Pc > 74) and all of their psychosocial or sociodemographic factors on their maximum expression (Pc > 74) were identified. In a contextualized joint influence with other psychosocial and sociodemographic factors, kindness fits equally goal- and circumstantial- self-regulation, as well as integrative organization of information. Kindness is a principle that optimizes a refreshing and prosocial interaction with the environment. As it anticipates sharing and cooperation behaviors, it might have a primordial function on individual and social development.

Nurses' perceived stress and compassion following a mindfulness meditation and self compassion training

This pilot study explored the effects of a mindfulness meditation intervention on nurses’ perceived stress and compassion. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design was used. Nurses ( n = 90) working at three university teaching hospitals completed the Perceived Stress Scale and Compassion Scale at the beginning of the training and 64 completed the scales at the end of the training. The 64 matched data sets were analysed using the t -test, chi-square test and analysis of variance. The findings indicated that the nurses’ perceived stress was significantly reduced after the intervention. Notably, compassion scores were increased after the intervention, and this finding was significant for nurses working at one of the hospitals. There were no significant differences between results from a 6-week and an 8-week mindfulness intervention. The results suggest that mindfulness meditation training can impact positively on nurses’ perceived stress and also enhance nurses’ compassion. Mindfulness may well be a suitable self-care, stress-management intervention that can effectively teach nurses coping skills to assist them in managing the daily stressors inherent in their home and work life.

The body compassion scale: Development and initial validation.

As the newer mindfulness and acceptance-based cognitive behavioral therapies continue to grow, it is important that corresponding valid and reliable assessment tools are developed and evaluated. This article describes the initial development and validation of the body compassion scale. The body compassion scale is a theoretically derived measure designed to bridge the constructs of body image and self-compassion to provide a targeted measure of underlying mindfulness and acceptance-based constructs. Herein, two studies using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and examining subsequent relationships among other health-related constructs in college-age samples are presented.

Effectiveness of Mindfulness Intervention in Reducing Stress and Burnout for Mental Health Professionals in Singapore

Stress and burnout have been shown to be a concern among mental health professionals in several countries including Singapore, and can affect quality of care and staff turnover. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a mindfulness program in increasing mindfulness and compassion, and reducing stress and burnout, among mental health professionals in Singapore. The study utilized data from a prospective pre-post study design with follow-up. A total of 37 mental health professionals participated in the program, which was conducted in three cohorts over nine months. The program consisted of six, two-hour sessions offered once a week over six weeks, and used a range of mindfulness techniques to teach participants to cultivate compassionate and non-judgemental attitudes toward their inner experiences. Data were collected at three stages: pre- and post-intervention, and three months follow-up. Assessments considered mindfulness (five facets mindfulness questionnaire), compassion (self-compassion scale-SF and compassion scale), stress (perceived stress scale-10), and burnout (Oldenburg Burnout inventory). Participants demonstrated significant improvement in four of the five mindfulness facets (observe, describe, non-judge, and non-react) and in compassion levels, and a significant reduction in stress, following intervention. The gains in mindfulness and self-compassion scores were maintained at three months follow-up. No change was observed for burnout variables. Results suggest that mindfulness training was effective in reducing stress and improving mindfulness and compassion, but not decreasing burnout, for this group of mental health professionals in Singapore. Future experimental research with larger samples is warranted to validate the findings of the present study.

WISDOM AND COMPASSION: TOGETHER FOR BETTER (OR FOR WORSE)?

Compassion and wisdom are two deeply human and social phenomena, rooted in our biology and in the evolution of social structures. But can they be taught and cultivated? This presentation examines qualitative and quantitative survey data from the Finnish CoPassion research project. The project included an intervention by training compassion & emotional skills, with a goal of enhancing compassion at the workplace. This talk discusses results of this intervention, focusing on shifts in compassion (measured via the Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale), wisdom (measured via 3D-WS-12 scale), and participants’ experiences of the effects of the intervention six months after it, as well as the interrelation between the constructs. This research will shed new light on the definitions and conceptualizations of wisdom in relation to compassion, but also on the ways these constructs evolve through brief interventions, speaking to malleability of trait-wisdom over time.

Brief compassion focused imagery for treatment of severe head injury

ABSTRACTObjective: To determine whether participants with severe head injury (SHI) allocated to a brief compassion focused imagery (CFI) intervention show greater change in compassion than those exposed to relaxation imagery (RI).Method: Participants were exposed to a preparatory video to promote engagement and then randomly allocated to intervention. Pre- and post-preparatory measures were Motivation for Intervention and Fears of Compassion Scales, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and PANAS. Pre- and post-intervention self-report measures were the Empathy Quotient, Self-Compassion Scale, STAI and Relaxation Scale. Heart rate variability (HRV) was monitored throughout.Results: Motivation for therapy increased after the preparatory video (z = 3.44, p = 0.001). Across the intervention, group differences were not found on self-report measures or HRV changes. When CFI and RI groups were pooled, improvement in relaxation (r = .41, p < 0.01) and state anxiety (r = .29, p < 0.05) were found across the intervention; these outcomes were not associated with changes in self-compassion or HRV.Conclusion: Brief CFI, a central aspect of compassion focused therapy, did not produce a reliable change in people with SHI. Enhanced motivation for psychological therapy after a brief preparatory video is relevant and underlines the need to understand mechanisms of action rather than the pursuing whole protocol approaches to therapy.

Factorial structure and construct validity of an Italian version of the Fears of Compassion Scales: Astudy on non-clinical subjects.

This study was aimed at investigating the factorial structure and the construct validity of the Italian translation of the Fears of Compassion (FC) Scales in a non-clinical sample (i.e., Fear of Compassion From Others [FCFO], Fear of Compassion Towards Others [FCTO] and Fear of Self-Compassion [FSC]). An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on all the items to investigate the dimensionality of the FC scales. To assess construct validity, correlations between the FC scales and a series of construct-related measures were analysed. After being translated into Italian using a back-translation procedure, the questionnaire was administered to a community sample of 298 participants (82 males) with a mean age of 24.31 (SD=8.75), along with self-report measures of psychopathological symptoms, attachment style, self-esteem, satisfaction with life and altruistic behaviour. A behavioural test of altruism was also administered in a subsample of 40 subjects. Thirteen of 38 items did not show adequate psychometric characteristics and thus were removed. The remaining 25 items showed a clear 3-factor solution which explained 48% of the variance. FC Scales were significantly correlated with all the construct-related scales administered in the expected direction, with higher effect sizes for FCFO and FSC than FCTO. Although 13 items were removed, results confirmed the expected three factor solution for the Italian translation of FC scales, and provided new evidence for their construct validity. In this vein, an interesting pattern of correlations emerged with psychiatric symptoms and prosocial behaviour, indicating that FCFO and FSC are more powerful correlates of psychopathology and altruism with respect to FCTO. Fears of Compassion Scales have been increasingly used in clinical and research settings. The reduced Italian version of the FCS developed in this study is a valid and parsimonious instrument. Fears of receiving compassion from others and from ourselves are more powerful predictors of psychopathological symptoms than fear of giving compassion to others. Fears of Compassion Scales were correlated with both a self-report and a behavioural measure of altruism.

Dimensionality and gender-based measurement invariance of the Compassion Scale in a community sample

Compassion has been proposed as relevant to psychological functioning and mental health, involving being compassionate and caring towards others in times of difficulty. The Compassion Scale (CS) proposes to assess compassion for others considering its different dimensions (Kindness; Common humanity; Mindfulness; Indifference; Separation, and Disengagement) and also offers a total score. The current work investigated the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of this instrument in adults (N=610). Results showed the acceptability of a two higher-order factor solution representing a negative and a positive valence of compassion (i.e., Compassion and Disconnectedness), with each higher-order factor comprising three different dimensions of compassion. Multi-group analyses established measurement invariance across gender; further mean comparison analyses showed that women presented higher levels of the positive dimensions of compassion, whereas men showed higher levels of the negative ones. The CS demonstrated good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and limited validity in relation to external variables. Overall, these findings contribute to the validation of the CS in a non-clinical adult sample, supporting a new measurement model that partially concurs with the original one. It thus provides the user with a new way of assessing and interpreting compassion that may be useful both in research and clinical settings.

The development of compassionate engagement and action scales for self and others

BackgroundStudies of the value of compassion on physical and mental health and social relationships have proliferated in the last 25 years. Although, there are several conceptualisations and measures of compassion, this study develops three new measures of compassion competencies derived from an evolutionary, motivational approach. The scales assess 1. the compassion we experience for others, 2. the compassion we experience from others, and 3. self-compassion based on a standard definition of compassion as a ‘sensitivity to suffering in self and others with a commitment to try to alleviate and prevent it’. We explored these in relationship to other compassion scales, self-criticism, depression, anxiety, stress and well-being.MethodsParticipants from three different countries (UK, Portugal and USA) completed a range of scales including compassion for others, self-compassion, self-criticism, shame, depression, anxiety and stress with the newly developed ‘The Compassionate Engagement and Actions’ scale.ResultsAll three scales have good validity. Interestingly, we found that the three orientations of compassion are only moderately correlated to one another (r < .5). We also found that some elements of self-compassion (e.g., being sensitive to, and moved by one’s suffering) have a complex relationship with other attributes of compassion (e.g., empathy), and with depression, anxiety and stress.A path-analysis showed that self-compassion is a significant mediator of the association between self-reassurance and well-being, while self-criticism has a direct effect on depressive symptoms, not mediated by self-compassion.DiscussionCompassion evolved from caring motivation and in humans is associated with a range of different socially intelligent competencies. Understanding how these competencies can be inhibited and facilitated is an important research endeavour. These new scales were designed to assess these competencies.ConclusionsThis is the first study to measure the three orientations of compassion derived from an evolutionary model of caring motivation with specified competencies. Our three new measures of compassion further indicate important complex relationships between different potentiation’s of compassion, well-being, and vulnerability to psychopathologies.

Differential Effects of Attention-, Compassion-, and Socio-Cognitively Based Mental Practices on Self-Reports of Mindfulness and Compassion

Research on the effects of mindfulness- and compassion-based interventions is flourishing along with self-report scales to assess facets of these broad concepts. However, debates remain as to which mental practices are most appropriate to develop the attentional, cognitive, and socio-affective facets of mindfulness and compassion. One crucial question is whether present-moment, attention-focused mindfulness practices are sufficient to induce a cascade of changes across the different proposed facets of mindfulness, including nonjudgmental acceptance, as well as compassion or whether explicit socio-affective training is required. Here, we address these questions in the context of a 9-month longitudinal study (the ReSource Project) by examining the differential effects of three different 3-month mental training modules on subscales of mindfulness and compassion questionnaires. The “Presence” module, which aimed at cultivating present-moment-focused attention and body awareness, led to increases in the observing, nonreacting, and presence subscales, but not to increases in acceptance or nonjudging. These latter facets benefitted from specific cultivation through the socio-cognitive “Perspective” module and socio-affective, compassion-based “Affect” module, respectively. These modules also led to further increases in scores on the subscales affected by the Presence module. Moreover, scores on the compassion scales were uniquely influenced by the Affect module. Thus, whereas a present-moment attention-focused training, as implemented in many mindfulness-based programs, was indeed able to increase attentional facets of mindfulness, only socio-cognitive and compassion-based practices led to broad changes in ethical-motivational qualities like a nonjudgmental attitude, compassion, and self-compassion.

Old Wine in New Bottles? The Case of Self–Compassion and Neuroticism

Research on self–compassion, which is defined as being understanding and kind to oneself when confronted with negative experiences, has produced an impressive number of articles in recent years. This research shows that individual differences in self–compassion, as measured by the Self–Compassion Scale (SCS), are positively related to life satisfaction, health and social functioning. However, a critical and systematic test of self–compassion from a personality perspective has not yet conducted so far. In the present study ( N = 576), we (i) tested the factor structure of the SCS, (ii) examined the distinctiveness of self–compassion with regard to the five–factor model of personality, focusing on neuroticism, and (iii) tested the incremental predictive power of self–compassion beyond the five–factor model in the context of life satisfaction. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a two–factor plus six facets solution of self–compassion (a positive factor and a negative factor). Additional analyses revealed that the negative factor was redundant with facets of neuroticism ( rs ≥ .85), whereas the positive factor had some unique variance left. However, neither the negative factor nor the positive factor could explain substantial incremental variance in life satisfaction beyond neuroticism. Recommendations for how to use the SCS are provided, and the future of research on self–compassion is discussed. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology

Validity, Reliability and Factorial Structure of the Self Compassion Scale in the Greek Population

Self-compassion is a construct in the field of Positive psychology. It involves being kind, warm and standing with understanding towards oneself when one suffers, fails or feels inadequate, rather than criticizing and blaming oneself or ignoring the pain and negative feelings. A plethora of studies has highlighted its beneficial outcomes on people’s psychological prosperity. In the present study, we examined the psychometric properties of the Greek version of Self Compassion Scale (SCS). The standardization was carried out in a sample of 642 Greek adults, ranging from 18 to 65 years old. Results showed that the SCS has satisfactory reliability and validity indexes. Moreover, the factorial structure of the scale matches the ones found in previous studies in many countries.

Measuring Compassion in Healthcare: A Comprehensive and Critical Review.

There is international concern about the lack of compassion in healthcare systems. A valid and reliable tool for measuring compassion in healthcare systems and educational institutions is required. This comprehensive and critical narrative synthesis identified and compared existing measures of compassionate care in clinical settings. PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL and PsycINFO databases and grey literature were searched to identify studies that report information on instruments that measure compassion or compassionate care in clinicians, nurses, healthcare students and patients. Textual qualitative descriptions of included studies were prepared. Instruments were evaluated using the Evaluating Measures of Patient-Reported Outcomes (EMPRO) tool. Nine studies containing information on the Compassion Competence Scale, a self-report instrument that measures compassion competence among Korean nurses; the Compassion Scale, the Compassionate Care Assessment Tool©, and the Schwartz Center Compassionate Care Scale™, patient-reported instruments that measure the importance of healthcare provider compassion; the Compassion Practices Scale, an instrument that measures organisational support for compassionate care; and instruments that measure compassion in educational institutions (instructional quality and a Geriatric Attitudes Scale), were included. Each instrument is associated with significant limitations. Most only measure certain aspects of compassion and lack evidence of adaptability to diverse practice settings. The EMPRO of self-report instruments revealed a lack of psychometric information on measurement reliability, validity, responsiveness and interpretability, respondent, administrative and scoring burden, and use in subpopulations. The findings of this narrative synthesis identified an unmet need for a psychometrically validated instrument that comprehensively measures the construct of compassion in healthcare settings.

Impact of Incivility and Self-Compassion on Burnout in Healthcare Workers

BACKGROUND: There is a large body of literature discussing CS, BO and STS in physicians, residents, medical students and nurses. Mid-level providers (MLPs) have not previously been assessed. Incivility has correlated to burnout in other professions, but not been assessed in a healthcare environment. Other constructs of psychological flexibility have rarely been evaluated. METHODS: A survey was sent to 501 MLPs. One hundred fifty-five completed the survey. The survey included: demographics, the Professional Quality of Life Scale, the Self Compassion Scale (SCS), the Perceived Stress Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, the Resilience Scale, the Workplace Incivility Scale, and the Health Provider Shame Scale. RESULTS: Approximately 38% of respondents fulfilled criteria for BO and 20% reported a high degree of incivility in the workplace. Residents and staff physicians were identified most often as the culprits. Significant predictors of BO included: SCS (β=−0.203, P=.04), incivility (β=0.233, P=.003), and perceived stress score (β=0.159, P=.001). DISCUSSION: Perceived incivility in the workplace can significantly impact BO, STS, and a decrease in CS in health care workers. The lack self-compassion increases individual's risk for BO. Programs to decrease burnout must look at not only how we relate to others, but how we relate to ourselves.

Psychometric Assessment of the Karuna (Compassion) Scale

If psychology is viewed as the science of human mind, the Buddha could unarguably he termed as the finest depth psychologist humanity has seen. As compassionate teachers, he focused his entire teaching primarily on the later practical aspect. He often mentions that he only taught only two things: there is unhappiness (dukkha) and there is a way out ofthis unhappiness. The root cause of unhappiness, he identified as the primeval ignorance Avija, which create the notion of'I' as individual entity, the doer, the feeler and the thinker. As the mind gets progressively purified it awakens from the illusion of personality and naturally abides in Compassion (Karuna), loving kindness (Mairty), Altruisticjoy (Mudita) and Equanimity (Upekkha) to increase degree. This research study addresses several major gaps in the psychological literatures. Two of these gaps are the use of young adult population samples and the dearth of relevant longitudinal data. Karuna compassion is virtue of an engaged Buddhist psychology. Karuna has a more significant role in Buddhist literatures Reigning measurers of karuna (compassion) have much theoretical grounding despite an extensive literature on the contours ofpositive functioning.Rational of the studyThere is growing concerned in our society that compassion is a dying virtue, gradually being strangled by narcissism, competition, prejudice, and revenge. Unfortunately psychology has been more concerned with negative aspect of life and neglected positive aspect. It's only recently that under the banner of positive Psychology human strength are being studied.Objective of studyTo analyze the Buddhist text and developed conceptualization and construction of assessment tool of Buddhist concept of Karuna (Compassion).ProcedureThe study is undertaken in two parts.Part-I would focus on conceptualization and assessment of karuna and Part- //would deal with investigating the correlates of karuna.A brief description ofthis part is given below.A brief account of the psychometric assessment of the Compassion scale is presented along with the employed statistical and psychometric techniques and the results obtained in this context. The aim of this analysis is to present a thorough psychometric evaluation of the Compassion scale and justify its use in the subsequent phase of the present research and in future researches. However, before presenting the results, a brief analysis of the characteristics of the sample is presented.MethodParticipantsIn the present analysis, data from a sample of 524 participants have been used. The sample consisted of 201 males and 323 females. The mean age of the sample is 20.18 years with a standard deviation (SD) of 4.79. Although the sample age ranges from 16 to 47 years, 97.9 percent sample is in the age range of 17 to 35 years. In terms of education, the sample consisted of 456 undergraduate students and 68 postgraduate and research students. In terms of residential background, there were 339 rural students and 185 urban students.Initial item analyses of the compassion scaleThe initial version of the Compassion scale had 84 items (see Appendix A-l). Item-remainder correlations, also known as corrected item-total correlations, were used for carrying out item analyses. It was decided to omit one poorest item at each run of the item analysis and continue this process till all the item-remainder correlations reached a specific cut-off point. The cut-off point of .20 was preferred. The choice of the cut-off point of .20 would be in line with Nunnally (1967), Nunnally and Bernstein (2010) and Pope (2009). Nunnally (1967, pp. 263-264) recommended that items having corrected item-total correlation of 0.20 be chosen and if the number of such items are in excess of the required number of items, items having higher correlations should be preferred; alternatively, if there are less items crossing the cut-off criterion of . …

Personal Belief in a Just World and Self – Compassion as Predictors of Body Appreciation in Individuals with Amputation Using and not Using Prosthesis

Objectives: To investigate the relationship of personal belief in just world self – compassion with body appreciation in individuals with amputation who use prosthesis and in those who do not use prosthesis.Methods: A sample of 78 individuals using prosthesis and not using prosthesis (n = 39 each) was selected. Cross – sectional research design was used. Urdu translated version of Personal Belief in Just World Scale (PBJW), Self – Compassion Scale and Body Appreciation Scale were used. Moderated regression analysis was used to assess if personal belief in just world and self – compassion predict body appreciation similarly or differently in the two groups using SPSS 20.Results: Among individuals with amputation using prosthesis were 30 (76.9%) men and 9(23.1%) women while among 39 individuals not using prosthesis were 30 (76.9%) men and 9 (23.1%) women. Age of individuals with amputation using and not using prosthesis was, M = 37.10, SD = 14.30 and M = 39.13, SD = 14.14 respectively. Duration of amputation of those using and not using prosthesis in years was M = 6.10, SD = 7.74 and M = 8.35, SD = 11.82 respectively. Duration of use of prosthesis in years was M = 3.29, SD = 3.86. Personal belief in just world positively predicted body appreciation in both groups. Self – compassion predicted body appreciation only in individuals with amputation using prosthesis. Individuals using prosthesis had better body appreciation than those not using prosthesis.Conclusion: Use of prosthesis helps in body appreciation of individuals with amputation. Over and above the use of prosthesis, personal belief in a just world is a personal resource that plays its role in maintaining body appreciation. However, Self – compassion aids in body appreciation among individuals with amputation using prosthesis.

Self-Compassion as a Relationship Moderator between Academic Burnout and Mental Health in Students

Background and purpose: College life is a challenging factor which affects the mental health and academic performance of students. Self compassion includes openness to and awareness of our sufferings, kindness to oneself and a non-judgmental view to our failures. The present study was conducted to investigate the moderator effects of self-compassion in the relationship between academic burnout and mental health in the students of Payam-e-Noor University of Delfan in the academic year of 2013-2014 (1392-1393). Materials and methods: the research sample included 200 students from Payam-e-Noor University of Delfan in the academic year of 2013-2014 (1392-1393), who were selected through cluster and simple random sampling. The instruments included the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Self Compassion Scale (SCS), and the academic burnout questionnaire (MBI-SS). The dada were analyzed using SPSS18 through Pearson correlation, and Hierarchical Moderated Regression. Findings: Findings showed that there is a negative relationship between academic burnout and self-compassion on one hand (P<0.01), and academic burnout and mental health on the other (P<0.05). Findings also showed that there is a positive relationship between self-compassion and mental health (P<0.01). In addition, self-compassion can be a moderator between academic burnout and mental health, and can moderate the effects of academic burnout on mental health (P<0.01). Conclusion: Results emphasize the importance of self-compassion as a variable in self acceptance. In other words, self-compassion is a way to connect to ourselves despite failures, incompetence and flaws.

Psychometric Properties of the Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale

The Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale (SCBCS) is a five-item scale intended to operationalize and measure compassion. Santa Clara University has been administering the SCBCS, along with other demographic questions, to all new entering as well as exiting graduating students for the past decade. Previous research has utilized compassion scores and demographic data collected from these surveys in both between and within-subject designs to examine compassion among these undergraduate students. The purpose of the current study was to examine the reliability and validity of the SCBCS through various psychometric tests utilizing 6,763 responses that have been collected in recent years. Internal reliability, split-half reliability, and test/re-test reliability findings suggest that the SCBCS is a reliable scale. Tests for convergent and divergent validity, as well as a factor analysis, propose that the scale is valid and is appropriate for its intended use of measuring self-reported compassion.

The role of self-compassion in lifetime history of depression: A study in Portuguese pregnant women

IntroductionAlthough self-compassion has been pointed as an effective strategy for coping with depression, there are not any studies investigating its association with lifetime history of depression (LTHD).ObjectiveTo compare self-compassion levels in pregnant women with vs. without LTHD and to analyze if self-compassion dimensions are significant predictors of LTHD.MethodsFour hundred and twenty-seven pregnant women with a mean age of 33 years (±4.785) in their second trimester of pregnancy completed the Self Compassion Scale validated for pregnancy (SCS; Bento et al., 2015) and a new self-report questionnaire to evaluate the presence of LTHD according to DSM-5 criteria for depression.ResultsNinety-seven (23.0%) women had LTHD. Bisserial Spearmen correlations between LTHD and SCS total score were significant, negative and moderate (r = –0.31). SCS subscales, except Common Humanity, showed significant correlations: Self-Kindness/SK (r = –0.130), self-judgement (SJ) (0.313), isolation (0.357), mindfulness (r = –0.102), over-identification (OI) (r = 0.393). Independent sample t tests revealed that women with vs. without LTHD had significantly lower levels of total SCS, SK and Mindfulness scores and higher levels of SJ, Isolation and OI.Logistic regression (assumptions were fulfilled, Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007) showed that the SCS explained 26.7%–43.6% of the LTHD variance and correctly classified 86.9%; the odds ratio (OR) was.865 (95% CI 0.834–0.898; P &lt; 0.001). The model composed by the correlated dimensions explained 15.9%–24.0% and correctly classified 80.6%. Odds ratios: SK = 0.017; SJ = 0.021; isolation = 16.027; mindfulness = 0.167 and OI = 20.178 (all P &lt; 0.05).ConclusionsSelf-compassion, specifically the ability to treat oneself with care and understanding and to be aware and accepting one's present-moment experiences, decrease the probability of having LTHD.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.