Objective
There has been a growing interest in the concept of self‐compassion in Eastern psychology. The aim of the present study was to explore the dimensionality of the widely used Self‐Compassion Scale (SCS; long and short versions) in both clinical and nonclinical samples
Method
Several confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were computed in a mixed clinical (n = 316) and a nonclinical sample (n = 1128) from the Portuguese population. Also, differences were tested between the groups in the SCS 6 factors.
Results
The CFA supported both a 6‐factor model and a hierarchical model in both samples. The SCS also showed good psychometric properties, with good internal consistency, test‐retest reliability, and convergent validity. Our study further suggests that individuals with several psychopathological disorders showed significantly lower self‐compassionate abilities.
Conclusions
The SCS (long and short versions) is thus a reliable instrument to assess self‐compassion and is useful for research and, in particular, clinical practice.