Translation and validation of the self-compassion scale from English to bahasa Melayu among local students in a Malaysian public university / Ross Stephenson

Ross , Stephenson (2021) Translation and validation of the self-compassion scale from English to bahasa Melayu among local students in a Malaysian public university / Ross Stephenson. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

Self-compassion is a growing area of research worldwide and has shown promise to be useful in providing insight and intervention against rising mental health issues. Self-compassion has also been linked to psychological well-being as well as negative psychological outcomes, which makes it an ideal measure for mental health. However, the instrument to measure self-compassion has not been comprehensively translated and validated in Malaysia yet. Previous studies are lacking in the psychometric evidence for a valid self-compassion scale in a local context. This study presents the comprehensive translation and validation of the 26-item self-compassion scale (SCS) by Neff (2003) from English to Bahasa Melayu (BM). The curent researcher first translated the SCS from English to BM using the backtranslation method. Cognitive interviews were conducted as a form of response validity. The first translation was pilot tested with 60 participants and internal consistency was found to be good. The translation was then reviewed and all items were retained but nine items were edited to make the translation more accurate. The SCS-BM was then administered to a total of 302 participants (M age = 21.9, SD age = 4.1) . Confirmatory factor analysis on the SCS-BM supported the original 6-factor model proposed by Neff (2003). Construct validity was demonstrated through a significant positive correlation between the SCS-BM and the SWLS-BM and a significant negative correlation between the SCS-BM and the BDI-BM. Test-retest reliability obtained after a 3-week interval was found to be acceptable. The translated SCS-BM produced by this study is a reliable and valid measure that can be further used to assess self-compassion in Malaysia.

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