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Advancing the assessment of compassion: Psychometric study of the compassion motivation and action scales in a Portuguese sample

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Abstract

Compassion can be defined as a sensitivity to suffering, both in the self and others, with a motivation and commitment to alleviate and prevent this suffering. Mounting research has documented the countless benefits of compassion-based interventions. The Compassion Motivation and Action Scales (CMAS) were designed to assess motivation and action as core components of compassion and self-compassion, and to allow the measurement of changes in compassionate action over time. This study aims to examine the factor structure and psychometric characteristics of the CMAS in the Portuguese population and further expand its original study by exploring its test–retest reliability and responsiveness to change. Factor structure, internal consistency and construct validity of the Compassion for Others and Self-Compassion Scales of the CMAS were examined in 516 adult participants recruited from the general community. Test–retest reliability and responsiveness to change were tested in a sample of 112 participants enrolled in a Compassion Mind Training for Teachers (CMT-T) program as part of a larger intervention trial. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis results confirmed the original structure of the instrument, composed by three subscales (intention, distress tolerance and action), both for the Compassion for Others scale (12 items) and the Self-Compassion scale (18 items). The CMAS revealed good internal consistency, adequate construct validity, temporal stability and sensitivity to change. Therefore, the CMAS seems to constitute a valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of compassionate and self-compassionate motivation and action, which can be used as both a research and clinical tool.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, MM, upon reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Marcela Matos, Elsa Gonçalves, Lara Palmeira, Inês Melo & Ana Allen Gomes

  2. Universidade Portucalense, Infante D. Henrique, Porto, Portugal

    Lara Palmeira

  3. School of Psychology, Compassionate Mind Research Group, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Stanley R. Steindl

Authors
  1. Marcela Matos
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  2. Elsa Gonçalves
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  3. Lara Palmeira
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  4. Inês Melo
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  5. Stanley R. Steindl
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  6. Ana Allen Gomes
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Contributions

Marcela Matos, Ph.D. (Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Supervision; Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing).

Elsa Gonçalves (Data curation; Investigation; Methodology; Formal analysis; Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing).

Lara Palmeira (Formal analysis; Software; Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing).

Inês Melo (Data curation; Investigation).

Stanley Steindl (Resources; Writing – review & editing).

Ana Allen Gomes (Supervision; Methodology; Writing – review & editing).

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marcela Matos.

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Matos, M., Gonçalves, E., Palmeira, L. et al. Advancing the assessment of compassion: Psychometric study of the compassion motivation and action scales in a Portuguese sample. Curr Psychol 42, 10092–10106 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02311-4

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