Psychometric Properties of the Portuguese Version of the Compassionate Love for Close Others and Humanity Scale among Older People.

ALTRUISM; EMPATHY; EXPERIMENTAL design; FACTOR analysis; FORGIVENESS; LOVE; RESEARCH methodology; PSYCHOMETRICS; RELIGION; RESEARCH evaluation; CULTURAL values; SOCIAL support; RESEARCH methodology evaluation; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; OLD age

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Compassionate Love for Close Others and for Strangers and Humanity Scale (Sprecher & Fehr, 2005) among older people. The psychometric properties of the two versions of the scale were analyzed by means of factor analysis, internal consistency, and criterion-related validity methods. The exploratory factor analysis supported a one-dimensional structure of the scale. The Compassionate Love for Close Others and for Strangers and Humanity Scale presented good psychometric properties, with satisfactory levels of internal consistency. The criterion-related validity of the scale was established by correlating compassionate love for others and for humanity with forgiveness, gratitude, and religiosity. Those who experience high levels of compassionate love for close others and strangers/humanity were more likely to report unconditional forgiveness, gratitude, and religiosity. The Portuguese version of the Compassionate Love for Close Others and for Strangers and Humanity Scale seems to be reliable and valid. The significance and limitations of the results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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