Validation of the Psychometric Properties of the Self-Compassion Scale. Testing the Factorial Validity and Factorial Invariance of the Measure among Borderline Personality Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Eating Disorder and General Populations.

Abstract

Background: During the last years there has been a growing interest in self-compassion. Empirical evidences show that self-compassion is associated with psychological benefits among young adults and it might be considered a buffer factor in several mental disorders. Aims: To validate the psychometric properties of Self-Compassion Scale (SCS: Neff, 2003a) after the initial lack of replicate the original 6-factor structure. Method: Data were collected from the overall database of a Research Center (56 males and 305 females; mean age= 25.19) and comprised 4 groups: borderline personality disorder, anxiety disorder, eating disorder and general population. Results: Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported a two-factor model (self-compassionate attitude versus self-critical attitude) with good internal consistencies, construct related validity and external validity. Configural, weak measurement and structural invariance of the two-factor model of SCS were also shown. Conclusions: Findings support the generalizability of the two-factor model and show that both properties and interpretations of scores on self-compassion are equivalent across these populational groups.