RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: There is increasing empirical evidence for the positive mental health effects of compassion-based interventions. Although numerous smartphone apps offering compassion-based interventions ('compassion apps') are now available for the general public, the quality of these apps has not yet been reviewed. A qualitative review of existing compassion apps serves as a crucial first step toward testing the efficacy of these apps, by identifying good-quality compassion apps that might be worth the investment of a scientific trial. AIMS: The current study focuses on reviewing the quality of existing compassion apps. METHOD: Existing compassion apps were identified through searches in the Google Play Store and App Store. The 24 included apps were reviewed on their quality by using the Mobile App Rating Scale, and on their consistency with current evidence by comparing them to existing and studied compassion-based interventions. RESULTS: Of the 24 included apps, eight were identified that met the criteria of being consistent with existing and studied compassion-based interventions, and acceptable to good overall quality. The other 16 apps failed to meet one or both of these criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Good-quality compassion apps are available, but many of the available apps fail to meet certain quality criteria. In particular, many apps failed to offer sufficient relevant and correct information, or failed to offer this information in an entertaining and interesting way. It is recommended that future compassion apps are based on a clear definition of compassion, offer evidence- and theory-based exercises and implement tools for increasing engagement.
RESUMEN
Self-compassion is considered an important, transdiagnostic factor for mental health. The Sussex Oxford Compassion for the Self Scale (SOCS-S) is a recently developed comprehensive measure of self-compassion, that was found to have promising psychometric properties among health care staff and university students in the initial validation study. The aim of this study is the further psychometric evaluation of a Dutch translation of the SOCS-S in different populations and settings. The SOCS-S was administered in three different Dutch samples [crisis line volunteers (n = 560), military personnel (n = 244) and nursing students (n = 255)]. The results confirm the five-factor structure of the SOCS-S and its reliability and criterion and convergent validity across the samples. Measurement invariance was demonstrated for gender in two samples and for age in all three samples, but not across professions. Finally, the SOCS-S was found to explain additional variance in mental health in comparison to a widely used self-compassion measure (SCS-SF).
