Scale Analysis

The Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale (SCBCS-5) was developed by Hwang in 2008 and was heavily influenced by Sprecher and Fehr’s Compassionate Love Scale (CLS), a scale that assesses altruistic love toward various targets. The SCBCS-5 was developed by measuring different aspects of compassion, including general tender feelings toward others, empathy, and compassionate love, which is defined as altruistic love for all people.

Objective

The Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale was created to evaluate the function and measurement of compassion associated with prosocial feelings and behaviors.

Item Scoring

Participants are asked to respond by reflecting on their compassionate feelings toward society and the extent to which each statement represents them. The scale consists of 5 items answered using a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (Not at all true of me) to 7 (Very true of me).

Statistical Analysis

The scale yields a total score by summing the ratings of all items, with a range from 5 to 35. Higher scores indicate greater levels of compassion.

Validity and Reliability

The split-half reliability test also highlighted the high internal reliability of the SCBCS-5. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was found to be α = 0.89, indicating excellent internal consistency.

References

Hwang, J. Y., Plante, T., & Lackey, K. (2008). The development of the Santa Clara brief compassion scale: An abbreviation of Sprecher and Fehr’s compassionate love scale. Pastoral Psychology, 56(4), 421–428.