The Self-Compassion Scale Arabic version for baccalaureate nursing students: A validation study

Abstract

Background: The Self-Compassion Scale is an extensively used tool to measure self-compassion among different groups of population, including nurses. The tool has been translated and tested for its psychometric properties in previous studies. Assessing self-compassion among Saudi nursing students is critical as self-compassion is suggested to create a positive effect on one's wellbeing, coping, emotions, and other personal outcomes.

Objectives: This study determined the validity and reliability of the Self-Compassion Scale Arabic version (SCS-A) for nursing students. It also identified the demographic factors associated with the students' self-compassion.

Design: A quantitative, cross-sectional design.

Settings: The investigation was carried-out in two government universities in Saudi Arabia.

Participants: A sample of 322 Saudi nursing students in the 2nd to 4th year, as well as nurse interns was surveyed (mean age = 21.27, range = 18-27).

Methods: The Self-Compassion Scale was culturally adapted to come up with the SCS-A. Content validity was established. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to establish the construct validity; whereas for reliability, internal consistency and test-retest reliability were established. Pearson's product correlation, t-test, and One-way Analysis of Variance were used to examine the demographic factors associated with self-compassion, accordingly.

Results: A panel of experts rated content validity as excellent. The EFA revealed six dimensions namely "self-judgment," "self-kindness," "common humanity," "mindfulness," "isolation," and "over-identification", with total variance of 64.1%. Cronbach's alpha values for the six factors were from 0.76 to 0.85, with an overall α of the whole scale at 0.86. Computation revealed ICC values ranging from 0.84 to 0.92, whereas the ICC for the entire SCS-A was 0.81.

Conclusion: SCS-A shown satisfactory validity as well as good reliability. SCS-A can be used to collect baseline data on self-compassion, which could be used in developing policies in the universities and training hospitals to ensure that nurse interns and nursing students have compassion toward self. The study also opens opportunities for multi-country and cross-cultural studies on self-compassion among nursing students.

Keywords: Nursing education; Nursing interns; Nursing students; Psychometrics; Self-compassion.