Psychometric properties of Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF) in Spanish adolescents

Self-compassion, individual's ability to treat oneself kindly, is important for mental well-being. The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) is the most used instrument to measure self-compassion, but the short form does not have validity evidence in adolescents. We examined the psychometric properties of the SCS-SF (12 items) in 955 Spanish adolescents (Mage = 13.95) using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and reliability tests. The life satisfaction, family satisfaction, and reactive-proactive aggression were used for convergent validity. Cronbach's alpha reliability value for the total scale was .723. CFA confirmed that the six-factor model showed good fit indices with three positive dimensions: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness; and three negative components: self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification (χ2 = 114.730; CFI = .966; GFI = .98; RMSEA = .045). The bifactorial model also showed an adequate fit, although with weaker values than the six-factor (ꭓ2 = 247.108; CFI = .914; GFI = .95; RMSEA = .06). The unifactorial model showed an inadequate fit. Total SCS score correlated positively with family satisfaction (r = .43; p