Mittuniversitetet

The Sussex-Oxford Compassion Scales (SOCS) are recently developed measures of compassion, which have showed support for a five-factor structure for both other-compassion (SOCS-O) and self-compassion (SOCS-S). The study aimed to validate the Swedish translations of both the SOCS-O and the SOCS-S. A sample of adult participants was randomly split into either an exploratory sample (N = 403) or a replication sample (N = 402). The exploratory sample was used for both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. In the replication sample, we (1) used CFA to validate results from the exploratory sample, (2) assessed measurement invariance for different groups (gender, nationality, age), and (3) evaluated psychometric properties using local fit. Results from both sub-samples support the presence of five-factor models for both SOCS-O (using 19 items) and SOCS-S (using 20 items). For both scales, measurement invariance is supported for all grouping variables, and local psychometric properties indicate good internal consistency with fairly good discriminant and convergent validity. This study supports the five-factor model of both other-compassion and self-compassion, respectively, and shows that the Swedish versions of both SOCS-O and SOCS-S are reliable and valid instruments that can be used to index compassion with general adult populations in Sweden and Finland. 

Background: This study assessed the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Empathic Experience Scale (EES), a recently developed scale for empathic traits (Innamorati et al., 2019). According to previous research, EES has two dimensions: Vicarious Experience and Intuitive Understanding. Methods: We used a split-sample method with a combination of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for an adult population (N = 805) from both Sweden and Finland. Results: Our findings support previous research, favoring a two-factor model over a unidimensional model. The final model provided support for measurement invariance across different grouping variables. Consistent with previous research on empathic traits, women obtained higher scores on both dimensions of the scale compared to men. Furthermore, the EES showed high internal consistency, good discriminant, and convergent validity. 

Previous self-report measures of attachment have used different assessment approaches, and a common conceptualization is using a dimensional perspective in which attachment is measured with two factors: attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance. The Experiences in Close Relationships—Relationship Structures Questionnaire (ECR-RS) has, prior to this study, been assessed for psychometric properties regarding specific relationships, but not in a shorter version for close relationships in general. In this paper, we present a Swedish translation of the ECR-RS Global nine-item version assessed for factor structure and psychometric properties by using a cross-validation approach with two separate adult samples. In Study 1 (N = 492), participants were randomly split into two subsamples. Using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the first subsample was used for finding the best-fitting model while the second subsample was used to test the a priori model using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In Study 2 (N = 806), we set out to validate the factor structure yet again by using CFA. Results from the EFA supported a two-factor structure with six items for attachment avoidance and three items for attachment anxiety. In the validation of the factor structure using CFA, both studies showed that all model-fit indices were good only after some modification, including removal of one avoidance item. Methodological reasoning and implications are discussed. The final eight-item model showed good internal consistency, as well as good convergent and discriminant validity, and multi-group invariance tests for gender and age showed no violations to invariance. Findings are encouraging to use this short global attachment self-report instrument, but further validation is advised.