The Polish adaptation of the Self-Compassion Scale Short Form

This study aimed to adapt the shortened version of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-SF) into Polish and to evaluate the psychometric properties and factor structure of this new measure.

The study included 596 adults (aged 18-50) from the general population (459 women). Of these 596, 47 individuals completed the SCS-SF one month later to assess its stability. The adaptation procedure followed the same procedure of the translation of the original version of the scale. Reliability was evaluated in terms of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Validity was evaluated using correlations between SCS-SF scores and intensity of mindfulness (understood as a trait), life satisfaction, self-esteem, acceptance of experiences, and levels of anxiety and depression. Stability was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficients between two measurements. The factor structure was examined using confirmatory factor analysis.

The results showed that the Polish version of the SCS-SF has good psychometric properties, and scores reflect a single factor - global self-compassion assessment.

The SCS-SF measures a global level of self-compassion and should be useful particularly when respondents' time is limited. To obtain measures of sub-scales of self-compassion, we recommend using a full version of the SCS.