Abstract
This article defines the construct of self-compassion and describes the development of the Self-Compassion Scale. Self-compassion entails being kind and understanding toward oneself in instances of pain or failure rather than being harshly self-critical; perceiving one's experiences as part of the larger human experience rather than seeing them as isolating; and holding painful thoughts and feelings in mindful awareness rather than over-identifying with them. Evidence for the validity and reliability of the scale is presented in a series of studies. Results indicate that self-compassion is significantly correlated with positive mental health outcomes such as less depression and anxiety and greater life satisfaction. Evidence is also provided for the discriminant validity of the scale, including with regard to self-esteem measures.
Keywords
PsychologySelf-compassionDiscriminant validityScale (ratio)CompassionLife satisfactionConstruct validityFeelingSocial psychologyAnxietyConstruct (python library)Reliability (semiconductor)Clinical psychologyPsychometricsMindfulnessPsychiatry
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
A Global Measure of Perceived Stress
This paper presents evidence from three samples, two of college students and one of participants in a community smoking-cessation program, for the reliability and validity of a ...
Evaluating Anxiety and Depression in HIV-Infected Patients
Because there is a large overlap between HIV manifestations and somatic symptoms of anxiety and depression, it is crucial to use measures that do not contain somatic items to va...
Subjective Well‐Being: The Convergence and Stability of Self‐Report and Non‐Self‐Report Measures
ABSTRACT The validity of self‐report measures of subjective well‐being (SWB) was examined and compared with non‐self‐report measures using a sample of 136 college students studi...
The Carroll Rating Scale for Depression I. Development, Reliability and Validation
Summary The Carroll rating scale (CRS) was developed as a self rating instrument for depression, closely matching the information content and specific items of the Hamilton rati...
Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness
The authors examine the facet structure of mindfulness using five recently developed mindfulness questionnaires. Two large samples of undergraduate students completed mindfulnes...
Publication Info
- Year
- 2003
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 223-250
- Citations
- 5886
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
5886
OpenAlex
Cite This
Kristin D. Neff
(2003).
The Development and Validation of a Scale to Measure Self-Compassion.
Self and Identity
, 2
(3)
, 223-250.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860309027
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1080/15298860309027