Compassion Scale: Factor structure and scale validation in Hong Kong adolescents

Steven Sek-yum Ngai ^1* Chau-kiu Cheung ² Yuen-hang Ng ¹ Haoyi GUO ¹ HANLEI DU ¹ Chen Chen ¹ Laing-ming Wong ¹ Qiu-shi Zhou ¹ Wing-tsam Pang ¹

• ¹ The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, China
• ² City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR China

This study aimed to validate the 16-item Compassion Scale (CS) for use with Hong Kong adolescents.1,193 secondary school students in grades 7 to 11 (M = 13.80 years, 43.3% female) completed the questionnaire survey. Factor analyses showed a three-factor structure combining mindfulness and kindness into one factor that we named benevolence, together with common humanity and indifference. Satisfactory model fit was found in different subgroups across age, gender, grade, and school type. Findings suggested that girls, on average, showed a higher level of compassionate concern for others than boys, and younger adolescents were more compassionate than their older counterparts. The CS and its subscales were significantly and positively correlated with social connectedness and self-efficacy, supporting concurrent validity. The findings signify the unique sociocultural context in Hong Kong, which is deeply affected by Chinese traditions, Western individualism, and neoliberal ideals. Overall, the study provides robust support for the CS as a reliable and valid measure for cross-cultural research on compassion and yields evidence-based implications for compassion interventions.