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

Background: In nurses, self-compassion mitigates the effects of stress, burnout and compassion fatigue, and enhances empathy, compassion and well-being and quality of life. The Self-Compassion Scale is the most-used instrument. The aim of this study is to validate the Spanish version of the new developed State Self-Compassion Scale-Long (SSCS-L). Methods: Students of the first year of the Nursing Degree were surveyed online. Together with the SSCS-L, their levels of positive and negative affect was reported. Analyses included descriptive statistics, competitive confirmatory factor analysis, evidence on criterion-related validity and estimates of reliability. Results: The best fitting model for the SSCS-L was the one hypothesizing six-correlated factors of self-compassion: self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness, self-judgement, isolation, and over-identification. Positive relations between the positive dimensions of self-compassion and positive affect were found, whereas there were negative relations between the positive poles of self-compassion and negative affect. Estimates of reliability were adequate, except for the dimension of over-identification. Conclusions: Self-compassion has become a key competency for nurses. The SSCS-L is an appropriate tool to allow an adequate assessment of self-compassion in experimental contexts.