The Self-Compassion Inventory, developed by Dr. Kristin Neff, is a psychometric tool designed to measure an individual’s level of self-compassion. Self-compassion is a multifaceted construct encompassing self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness, which help people cope with challenging situations and personal difficulties. The inventory is grounded in the idea that self-compassion can lead to better emotional well-being, improved mental health, and enhanced resilience.
The Self-Compassion Inventory, also known as the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), is a self-report questionnaire consisting of 26 items, which are scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). The inventory assesses six components of self-compassion, each represented by a subscale:
Self-Kindness: This subscale measures the extent to which individuals are kind and understanding towards themselves, particularly when they experience failure or personal shortcomings. Self-kindness involves offering support and warmth to oneself rather than harsh self-criticism.
Self-Judgment: This subscale represents the inverse of self-kindness, capturing the tendency to be critical and judgmental towards oneself. High scores on this subscale indicate a lack of self-compassion.
Common Humanity: This subscale measures the understanding that suffering and personal inadequacy are part of the shared human experience. Individuals with high scores on this subscale recognize that everyone faces difficulties, and they feel connected to others in their struggles.
Isolation: The inverse of common humanity, this subscale assesses the extent to which individuals feel alone and isolated in their suffering. High scores indicate a lack of self-compassion and a tendency to view one’s problems as unique and insurmountable.
Mindfulness: This subscale measures the ability to maintain a balanced perspective on one’s thoughts and feelings without becoming overwhelmed. High scores on this subscale suggest a greater capacity for self-compassion through mindfulness.
Over-Identification: This subscale is the inverse of mindfulness, assessing the tendency to become absorbed by negative emotions and thoughts, making it challenging to maintain a balanced perspective. High scores on this subscale indicate a lack of self-compassion.
The SCS is scored by calculating the mean of each subscale, with the three negative subscales (self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification) reverse-coded. The final self-compassion score is obtained by summing the means of all six subscales.
Research has demonstrated that the Self-Compassion Inventory has good psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. It has been used in numerous studies to examine the relationship between self-compassion and various aspects of mental health, such as anxiety, depression, stress, and resilience. In general, higher levels of self-compassion are associated with improved mental health and well-being.
The Self-Compassion Inventory has significantly contributed to our understanding of the role of self-compassion in mental health and well-being. It has paved the way for developing interventions to foster self-compassion.
The full scale can be found on Dr. Neff’s website, along with scoring instructions and additional information about the scale’s psychometric properties.
Website: http://self-compassion.org/self-compassion-scales-for-researchers/Links to an external site.
Statements on the Self-Compassion Scale are scored on a Likert scale of 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always).
The collected data can be utilized in two ways:
1. To calculate an overall compassion score – Items representing uncompassionate responses to inadequacy or suffering (the self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification subscales) are reverse-coded only when calculating the overall compassion score. In this way, higher scores represent a lower frequency of these responses.