Measuring compassion in young people

There has been increased scientific interest in compassion in recent years, and compassion is suggested to have many benefits for young people, reflecting the adult literature. However, research highlights issues related to the measurement of compassion in young people. The systematic review aimed to describe and critically appraise the compassion measures used with young people, and their psychometric properties. Three databases were searched (Medline, Psychinfo, Web of Science), and 15 papers were included which outlined the psychometric properties of eight compassion measures used with young people. The measures were critically reviewed and rated for quality, with quality ratings ranging from 2 to 9 out of 14. All measures had clear psychometric weaknesses. The majority of papers assessed self-compassion and no identified papers examined psychometric properties with young people in the UK. Overall, this review suggests that the majority of compassion measures are not suitable for use with young people. Recommendations for future research are discussed.