The Сoncept of Self-compassion: a Russian Adaptation of the Scale by Kristin Neff

The article describes a relatively new psychological construct of self-compassion and its relation to another well-known notion, self-esteem. Arguments are presented in favor of the new construct in working with adolescents and patients. According to that, there is a need of an adaptation on a Russian sample of the scale, which measures self-compassion. It was hypothesized that the Self-Compassion Scale by K. Neff will be an appropriate instrument to measure the construct on a Russian sample, as it passed successful adaptation in many other countries. For that purpose the scale was translated, and was then given to students in three Russian cities, along with Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, Almost Perfect Scale, Experience in Close Relationships – Revised, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (students were from Moscow, Cheboksary, Kirov, N = 490, 152 males, 337 females, one person undefined, aged 17— 28 (М = 19,3, SD = 1,2)). ESEM showed satisfactory fit of the model with 6 specific factors (subscales) (χ2(184) = 452,074; CFI = 0,956; TLI = 0,923; RMSEA = 0, 055 (0,048; 0,061), SRMR = 0,028). Indices of reliability for the subscales were also satisfactory. Correlations of the subscales with other questionnaires showed good construct validity. Thus, the Russian version of the Self-Compassion Scale by K. Neff can be used in clinical and research purposes on Russian youth samples.

Self-compassion is a relatively new construct, which was introduced by an American psychologist Kristin Neff, and the author suggests replacing the concept of self-esteem with this term. Since 2003, she has consistently criticized self-esteem.

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