A Validation Study of the Self-Compassion Scale–Short Form (SCS-SF) with Ant Colony Optimization in a Turkish Sample

Abstract

The general purpose of this study is to validate the Turkish version of the short form of Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) by Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). For this purpose, data were collected from two different samples. Sample-1 (n = 398) and Sample-2 (n = 233) consist of young and middle-aged adults. Short forms were created by selecting the most suitable items for unidimensional, two-factor correlated, six-factor correlated, six-factor higher-order, bifactor-CFA and bifactor-ESEM factor structures using ACO over Sample-1, and the best short form was determined using model-data fit indices. After the determination of the bifactor-ESEM with Sample-1 as the best factor structure, the model data fits and reliability indices of the relevant factor structure were cross-validated on Sample-2. Strict measurement invariance was established between age groups. The results indicate that the SCS-SF developed in this study is a valid and reliable measurement tool with a bifactor-ESEM structure with 12 items, 6 specific factors, and a general factor