Psychometric Properties of the Self-Compassion Scale—Short Form: Study of Its Role as a Protector of Spanish Nurses Professional Quality of Life and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Self-compassion is a multifaceted construct that represents compassion turned inward and involves approaching one’s failure and inadequacy with kindness. To measure these self-compassionate behaviors, the Self-Compassion Scale—Short Form (SCS-SF) is one of the most widely used and has been recurrently employed in the healthcare arena. Specifically, self-compassion has been pointed out as essential for providing compassionate care and maintaining healthcare workers balance. Aim: The aim of this study is twofold: (1) to provide evidence of the psychometric properties of the SCS-SF in a sample of Spanish nurses and (2) to study of its role as a protector of Spanish nurses professional quality of life and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A sample of 115 Spanish nurses was studied. Mean age was 43.79 years old (SD = 10.99); 84.3% were women. The factorial structure of the SCS-SF was studied with competitive confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Finally, a full structural equation model was tested, in which positive and negative self-compassion predicted professional quality of life, and professional quality of life, in turn, predicted well-being. Results: Three a priori structures were compared: one-factor, two-factor, and six-factor model. The two-factor solution, positive and negative self-compassion, was retained as the best structure to represent the data. Regarding the predictive model, the two poles of self-compassion predicted professional quality of life prediction, and professional quality of life positively predicted well-being, showing a strong relationship. Conclusion: Self-compassion can be an important resource for nurses’ balance, promoting adequate professional quality of life and their well-being.

Bibliometric Analysis of the Scientific Production on Compassion Fatigue

“…In the last two years, there has also been an emergence of keywords such as COVID 19, pandemic, control group, and mindfulness. These data show that the COVID 19 pandemic is associated with compassion fatigue [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ] and the appearance of experimental studies [ 31 , 32 , 33 ] with mindfulness programs [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ].…”

The Spanish Version of the State Self-Compassion Scale–Long Form (SSCS–L): A Study of Its Validity and Reliability in a Sample of Nursing Students

“…For the study of the internal structure, competitive confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used. Three CFAs were specified and tested, following Lluch-Sanz et al’s [ 42 ] work. Specifically, the tested models included: One-factor model.…”

“…Both in qualitative and quantitative terms, nurses are exposed to very high levels of stress caused by the work environment [ 30 , 31 ]. Considering this, self-compassion could be useful in order to face such stress, as it seems to act as a buffer against the effects of stress [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], burnout [ 32 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], and compassion fatigue [ 35 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. It has also been linked to higher levels of empathy [ 35 , 43 ], compassion for others [ 44 ], compassion satisfaction [ 35 , 37 , 38 , 41 , 42 , 45 ], increased compassionate care [ 36 , 46 ], and higher caring efficacy [ 47 ].…”

“…Considering this, self-compassion could be useful in order to face such stress, as it seems to act as a buffer against the effects of stress [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], burnout [ 32 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], and compassion fatigue [ 35 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. It has also been linked to higher levels of empathy [ 35 , 43 ], compassion for others [ 44 ], compassion satisfaction [ 35 , 37 , 38 , 41 , 42 , 45 ], increased compassionate care [ 36 , 46 ], and higher caring efficacy [ 47 ]. Additionally, adequate levels of self-compassion have been related to well-being [ 36 , 40 , 46 ] and quality of life [ 32 , 40 ].…”

“…Both the SCS and the SCS–SF have been adapted and translated to several languages, including Brazilian Portuguese [ 49 ], Chinese [ 50 ], French [ 51 ], German [ 52 ], Greek [ 53 ], Italian [ 54 ], Japanese [ 55 ], Korean [ 56 ], Norwegian [ 57 ], Persian [ 58 ], Portuguese [ 59 ], or Spanish [ 60 ]. A recent review shows that the SCS is by far the most used instrument with regards to the study of self-compassion for nurses and midwifes [ 61 ], with the Spanish version of the SCS–SF being recently validated [ 42 ].…”