Self-Compassion

Shriya Shah
Introduction
- The term ‘‘compassion’’ derives from the Latin word ‘‘compati’’ ,meaning ‘‘to suffer with’’
(Straussetal.,2016).
- Compassion is a fundamental aspect in Buddhist Psychology, not only entailing being in contact with
suffering, but also involving a profound commitment to relieve this suffering (Neff,2003).
- Therefore from the Buddhist perspective Neff defines self compassion as “balance between
increased compassionate and decreased uncompassionate self-responding to personal struggle” (Neff
et al. 2018, p. 371)
- She has operationalized self-compassion as consisting of three main elements: kindness, common
humanity, and mindfulness (2003b).
Review of Literature
 A study by Zessin et al; reveal a strong relationship between self-compassion and psychological
well-being from adolescence to late adulthood (2015).
 Higher levels of self-compassion have also been found to positively correlated with positive affect,
vitality, sense of competence, and the desire to interact with others (Gunnell et al; 2017).
 Research show that self-compassion is also related to the tendency to procrastinate: individuals with
high levels of self-compassion are less likely to procrastinate and are better able to manage their
worries about competence (Williams et al; 2008).
 Individuals with higher levels of self-compassion are more likely to be motivated to examine their
weaknesses and believe that those weaknesses can be improved (Breines and Chan, 2012).
 Perceived COVID-19 threat and death anxiety was partially mediated by self-compassion. (Kavakli
et al; 2020).
 Self Compassion

Self- Common Mindfulnes

kindness Humanity s
Operational Definitions
Self-compassion refers to the ability to experience and connect with one's own pain (on an
emotional level) while without being judgmental of oneself (on a cognitive level).
Three components of self compassion:
 Self Kindness entails being loving, gentle, and accepting towards oneself when facing personal limitations. It
also involves internal dialogues that are encouraging and comforting instead of self-critical, and it requires
active self-soothing in times of distress when facing inadequacies and difficult situations (Neff & Knox, 2017).
 Common Humanity refers to recognizing that suffering is a part of the human experience. Common humanity
involves understanding that what makes us feel separate is what we actually have in common, which is the
opposite of feeling isolated (Neff & Germer, 2017).
 Mindfulness is a nonjudgmental, receptive mind-state in which thoughts and feelings are observed as they
are, without suppressing or denying them. Mindful attention is thought to help one deeply experience and learn
from the present without the distractions of self-evaluations or worries about the past or future (Neff, 2003).
Measures of the Construct
 Self-Compassion Scale (SCS)
• Developed by Neff (2003).
• It has 26 items, and each item is answered through 5 point Likert scale.
• It consists of six factors (the three main factors of compassion and the irrespective opposite constructs): kindness
and self-judgment, common humanity and isolation, and mindfulness and over-identification.
• Psychometric properties:
- high internal consistency [Cronbach’s alpha=0.94 (Neff, Rude, and Kirkpatrick, 2007)].
- It good test-retest reliability (r=0.93; Neff, 2003)
Measures of the Construct
Self-Other Four Immeasurables (SOFI)
• Developed by Kraus and Sears (2009).
• It has 16 items, , and each item is answered through 5 point Likert scale.
• It measure applications of the four main qualities of Buddhist teachings: loving kindness, compassion, joy, and
acceptance toward both the self and others.
• The items are grouped into four subscales: positive qualities toward oneself, positive qualities toward others,
negative qualities toward oneself and negative qualities toward others.
• Psychometric properties:
- High internal consistency of each subscales: Positive Self (a=0.86); Negative Self (a=0.85); Positive Other (a=0.80);
Negative Other (a=0.82).
Measures of the Construct
Relational Compassion Scale (RCS)
• Developed by Hacker (2008).
• It is a 16 items self reported scale.
• It consists of 4 sub-scales:
- compassion for others,
- self compassion,
- beliefs about how compassionate other people are to each other, and
- beliefs about how compassionate other people are to them.
Rational
As the current circumstances have brought about suffering, pain, uncertainties,
pressures and grief for a lot of individuals. It can be really easy to resort to self-
judgment, catastrophizing and disconnection. However, by embodying self-
compassion one can be kind to one self, present-focused and connected.
Target Audience
• Indian Citizen
• Between the age of 18- 40.
• Can understand and use English language in their day to day life.
• Resides in Urban area.
Test Format
•The test would be measured on a 5 point Likert scale.
1- Strongly disagree
2- Disagree
3- Neutral
4- Agree
5- Strongly Agree
• It would calculate the composite score of the test.
Sample Items
 Self Kindness
•I'm sympathetic and patient with parts of my personality that I don't like.
• I try to be gentle with myself when I am under emotional distress.
•I'm critical and judgemental of my own flaws and inadequacies. (R)
 Common Humanity
• I see my struggles as a part of human experience.
• When I'm feeling upset, I remind myself that there are a lot of other individuals in the world that are feeling the same way I am.
• When I'm going through a rough patch, I can be a little hard on myself. (R)
 Mindfulness
• When confronted with a challenge, I strive to keep things in perspective.
• When anything bothers me, I make an effort to maintain mental clarity.
•When I’m feeling down I tend to obsess and fixate on everything that’s wrong. (R)
Standardization of Test
 Reliability
-Internal consistency – Cronbach’s Alpha
- Test retest reliability: There is a one-week gap between the two tests.
 Validity
-Convergent validity with Self compassion scale by Neff (2003)
 Norms
- Within group norms : z scores are used to determine standard scores.
Theoretical and Practical Implications
- To contribute to existing literature of the construct.
- It can be useful in counseling and clinical setting to provide support and help in
improving client’s wellbeing.
- It can be used to measure important and meaningful individual differences in the
capacity to be self-compassionate in the context of social stress and other
interpersonal adversities.
References
•Dragan, N., Kamptner, L., & Riggs, M. (2021). The impact of the early caregiving
environment on self-compassion: The mediating effects of emotion regulation and
shame. Mindfulness, 12(7), 1708-1718.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01634-4
•Dreisoerner, A., Junker, N. M., & Van Dick, R. (2020). Correction to: The
relationship among the components of self-compassion: A pilot study using a
compassionate writing intervention to enhance self-kindness, common humanity,
and mindfulness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22(5), 2409-2410.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00306-9
•Muris, P., & Otgaar, H. (2020). The process of science: A critical evaluation of
more than 15 years of research on self-compassion with the self-compassion scale.
Mindfulness, 11(6), 1469-1482. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01363-0
•NEFF, K. D. (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
•Neff, K. D. (2008). Self-compassion: Moving beyond the pitfalls of a separate
self-concept. Transcending self-interest: Psychological explorations of the quiet
ego, 95-105. https://doi.org/10.1037/11771-009
•Neff, K. D. (2018). Setting the record straight about the self-compassion scale.
Mindfulness, 10(1), 200-202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-1061-6
•Neff, K. D., & Dahm, K. A. (2015). Self-compassion: What it is, what it does, and
how it relates to mindfulness. Handbook of Mindfulness and Self-Regulation, 121-
137. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2263-5_10