Citation

Henje E, Wiberg M, Dennhag I. Aust. Psychol. 2024; 59(1): 24-35.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Australian Psychological Society, Publisher Wiley-Blackwell)

DOI

10.1080/00050067.2023.2217326

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Compassion-focused interventions for young people have started to emerge to treat depressive symptoms, and reliable and valid measures of the construct "self-compassion" is needed for this age-group in Swedish. This study aims to validate the Swedish translation of the Self-Compassion Scale for Youth (SCS-Y). Self-report questionnaires were collected from students (N = 316) aged 15-20 recruited from schools in Sweden, in a cross-sectional design. Confirmatory factor analyses, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, measurement invariance and convergent and divergent validity were calculated. A model with one general bi-factor and six specific factors had the best fit and confirmed the factor structure of SCS-Y. Internal consistencies were good, except for the subscale mindfulness for boys which was questionable. Three-week test-retest reliability was good. We found measurement invariance for age and no equivalence for sex. Evidence was found for convergent and divergent validity using correlations. Sex differences were found: girls scored higher on self-judgement, feelings of isolation and showed more over-identification, than boys. The Swedish version of SCS-Y (SCS-Y-SE) is a reliable and valid self-report questionnaire, with some limitations, to assess self-compassion in clinical practice and research. What is already known about this topic: Compassion-focused interventions can potentially help young people overcome self-criticism and poor psychological health.Reliable and valid self-report questionnaires for compassion focused interventions are needed in Swedish.Self-Compassion Scale for Youths (SCS-Y) is a short, age-appropriate, valid and reliable instrument for adolescents in US populations. Compassion-focused interventions can potentially help young people overcome self-criticism and poor psychological health. Reliable and valid self-report questionnaires for compassion focused interventions are needed in Swedish. Self-Compassion Scale for Youths (SCS-Y) is a short, age-appropriate, valid and reliable instrument for adolescents in US populations. What this topic adds: We translated and adapted the SCS-Y to Swedish (SCS-Y-SE) and tested it in a school sample.The factor structure of SCS-Y-SE was established by confirmatory factor analyses, three-week test-retest reliability was good, and convergent and divergent validity were good.SCS-Y-SE can be considered a reliable and valid Swedish questionnaire for self-compassion in the age-range 15-20 years. We translated and adapted the SCS-Y to Swedish (SCS-Y-SE) and tested it in a school sample. The factor structure of SCS-Y-SE was established by confirmatory factor analyses, three-week test-retest reliability was good, and convergent and divergent validity were good. SCS-Y-SE can be considered a reliable and valid Swedish questionnaire for self-compassion in the age-range 15-20 years.

Keywords

adolescents; confirmatory factor analysis; measurement invariance; psychometrics; Self-compassion