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The Social Self-Compassion Scale (SSCS): Development, Validity, and Associations with Indices of Well-Being, Distress, and Social Anxiety

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Abstract

Self-compassion refers to being kind and understanding towards oneself following adverse life experiences. Although it is valuable to focus on self-compassion in general, there is merit in also considering specific types of self-compassion. Accordingly, the current research describes a domain-specific measure of being self-compassionate in response to interpersonal adversities and challenges. The Social Self-Compassion Scale (SSCS) assesses self-compassion in the context of social stress (e.g., being criticized, excluded, committing a social blunder). The psychometric properties and factor structure of this domain-specific scale are explored using three university student samples (N = 719). We also report normative data from a community sample of people seeking help for shyness and social anxiety. As hypothesized, scores on the SSCS were associated negatively with social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and shame, and they were associated positively with social self-efficacy and well-being as well as indices tapping mattering and mindfulness. Moreover, a series of regression analyses showed that levels of social self-compassion often accounted for significant unique variance in key outcomes beyond variance attributable to general self-compassion. Collectively, results support the assessment of individual differences in social self-compassion and the utility of an explicit emphasis on how people react to themselves following challenging and difficult interpersonal experiences. The implications are discussed along with key directions for future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Keele Campus, York University, 4700 Keele St, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada

    Alison L. Rose

  2. Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, N2025 - 75 University Avenue W, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3C3, Canada

    Nancy L. Kocovski

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  1. Alison L. Rose
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Correspondence to Alison L. Rose.

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All three self-report studies involved surveying undergraduate participants at an Ontario (Canada) postsecondary institution following receipt of formal approval from the ethics review board.

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Appendix. Social Self-Compassion Scale

Appendix. Social Self-Compassion Scale

  1. 1.

    When I fail to do the right thing in a social situation, I become consumed by feelings of inadequacy.

  2. 2.

    I try to be understanding and patient towards myself when I fall short of my social expectations.

  3. 3.

    When I make a mistake in public, I try to take a balanced view of the situation.

  4. 4.

    When I’m feeling anxious in a social setting, I feel like other people are probably more relaxed than I am.

  5. 5.

    I try to see my failings in social situations as part of the human condition.

  6. 6.

    When I’m having a hard time in social situations, I give myself the caring and tenderness I need.

  7. 7.

    When something upsets me in social situations, I try to keep my emotions in balance.

  8. 8.

    When I fail to do the right thing in a social situation, I tend to feel alone in my failure.

  9. 9.

    When I’m feeling socially anxious, I tend to obsess and fixate on everything that is wrong.

  10. 10.

    When I’m feeling socially inadequate, I try to remind myself that feelings of inadequacy are shared by most people.

  11. 11.

    I’m disapproving and judgmental about my own social flaws and inadequacies.

  12. 12.

    I’m intolerant and impatient towards myself when socially anxious.

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Rose, A.L., Kocovski, N.L. The Social Self-Compassion Scale (SSCS): Development, Validity, and Associations with Indices of Well-Being, Distress, and Social Anxiety. Int J Ment Health Addiction 19, 2091–2109 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00302-3

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