Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Self-Compassion Scale-Malay Version: Its Reliability Among Adolescents

The purpose of this study is to determine the internal consistency reliability of SelfCompassion Scale-Malay Version (SCS-MV) and its subscale scores among non-clinical youth samples in Malaysia. The original Self Compassion Scale (SCS) comprises of 6 subscales which are self-kindness, self-judgement, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness and overidentification, this scale was translated into Bahasa Melayu (Malay Language) which is the primary language in Malaysia. The Bahasa Melayu translated version of SCS (SCS-MV) was administered on 377 adolescents aged 16 years old who attended secondary school. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was carried out and Cronbach alphas were used to estimate the reliability or internal consistency of the SCS-MV subscales. Results demonstrated that this study support the use of the six factors scoring method of the original SCS with the overall Cronbach’s alpha for SCS-MV ranging from 0.76 to 0.95. These results provided further psychometric evidence and lent a confirmatory support that SCS-MV can be used among Malay-speaking adolescent populations in Malaysia.