Psychometric validation of the Self-Compassion Scale: Short Form in two Canadian Armed Forces samples

Introduction: Self-compassion, the tendency to have positive self-regard even in the face of failure and weakness, is an important protective factor for mental health in military personnel and Veterans. However, the primary shortened self-report measure, the Self-Compassion Scale — Short Form (SCS-SF), has not been validated in military samples. Method: In the current study, we evaluate the factor structure of the SCS-SF with a sample of 807 Canadian military members, confirm the factor structure with a second sample of 525 Canadian military members, and test the differential correlations of developed SCS-SF Self-Kindness and Self-Criticalness sub-scales with mental health and coping variables. Results: In each military sample, the two-factor confirmatory factor analysis solution with self-kindness and self-criticalness as factors had the best fit and factor interpretability when Item 7 was not included in the analyses. Each factor had distinct associations with external variables, providing further convergent and discriminant support that each sub-scale represents different constructs. Discussion: Future use of the SCS-SF and, in particular, its sub-scales of self-kindness and self-criticalness in military samples is encouraged.