SOCIAL SAFENESS AND PLEASURE SCALE

Abstract

The Social Safeness and Pleasure Scale (SSPS) is a concise self-report instrument designed to quantify the degree to which individuals perceive and experience their social environments as fundamentally safe, warm, and soothing. Developed within the framework of compassion-focused approaches, the scale assesses positive relational experiences related to feelings of belonging, acceptance, and receiving warmth from others. It is utilized in psychological research to understand how the experience of Social Safeness contributes to overall psychological well-being and to explore affective systems, particularly in clinical populations.

Keywords

Social Safeness, Positive Affect, Compassion Focused Therapy, Belonging, Attachment, Soothing System, Social Relationships, Positive affect, Psychological assessment.

Authors

Gilbert, P., McEwan, K., Mitra, R., Richter, A., Franks, L., Mills, A., Bellew, R., Gale, C.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SSPS is to measure the subjective experience of pleasure, positive feelings, and positive emotions specifically generated within social contexts. It aims to capture the comforting and regulatory aspects of interpersonal relationships that contribute to an individual’s sense of security and well-being.

This measurement is crucial for researchers and clinicians interested in the role of social support and relational security in mental health outcomes. By quantifying the perceived safeness of one’s social world, the scale offers insight into potential deficits or strengths in an individual’s social-affiliative system, which is highly relevant in conditions such as depression or Bipolar disorder, as explored in the initial validation study.

Construct

The SSPS measures the construct of Social Safeness and Pleasure, which is rooted in the evolutionary model of affect regulation, particularly the soothing/safeness system proposed by Paul Gilbert. This system is activated by feelings of being cared for, accepted, and belonging, and serves to calm threat-based emotions.

The items reflect core components of this construct, including relational contentment, ease of being soothed, feelings of connection, security, and acceptance. The development process involved selecting adjectives indicative of safeness and soothing—such as ‘soothed,’ ‘peaceful,’ ‘warm,’ and ‘secure’—which were then translated into 12 statements reflecting everyday social experiences.

Validity

While the source content does not provide specific data on construct or criterion validity (e.g., correlations with other established measures), the development process itself lends support to the scale’s content validity. Researchers initially identified 14 adjectives associated with safeness and soothing, which were then ranked by a panel of experts to ensure they accurately captured the intended domain.

The subsequent generation of 12 situational statements based on these adjectives aimed to ensure high relevance and coverage of the core psychological experience of social security and warmth. This methodical approach ensures that the SSPS items are logically related to the theoretical construct of social safeness.

Reliability

The Social Safeness and Pleasure Scale demonstrates excellent internal consistency. The initial validation study reported a high Cronbach alpha coefficient of .92.

This high reliability value suggests that the 12 items on the scale are highly intercorrelated and are consistently measuring the same underlying construct (Social Safeness and Pleasure) across the respondent group. This strong internal reliability confirms the scale’s suitability for research purposes requiring precise measurement of this affective dimension.

Factor Analysis

The provided description suggests that the scale measures a single, cohesive construct—the experience of social safeness and warmth—as the scoring method involves a simple summation of all items. This methodology implies that the scale is intended to be unidimensional.

Although detailed factor analysis results (such as Exploratory Factor Analysis or Confirmatory Factor Analysis) are not included in the source material, the high Cronbach alpha supports the idea that the items load strongly onto one primary factor representing social security and relational pleasure.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale

Format: 12 statements rated on a 5-point Likert scale.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: General population, Students, and Clinical populations (e.g., patients with Bipolar disorder).

Age Group: Adults and students (Specific minimum age not defined, but typically used with adults in psychological studies).

Population Details: The scale was initially explored in samples including university students and patients diagnosed with Bipolar disorder.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate their agreement with each statement based on how frequently they experience the feeling described. The scale ranges from 0 (“almost never”) to 4 (“almost all the time”), resulting in a maximum total score of 48 (assuming 12 items). Scoring is achieved by simply summing the numerical ratings of the items.

Keywords

Self-report scale, Affect regulation, Attachment theory, Compassion, Wellbeing, Social connection, Psychometrics, Social Safeness, Positive affect.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source content.

Correspondence Address: Correspondence is typically associated with the University of Derby, UK, based on the provided reference source link.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was first published in 2009. Information regarding formal permissions and associated fees is not detailed in the source content, but instruments developed by Paul Gilbert and colleagues are often made available for non-commercial research use. The original scale document (DOC file) can be downloaded here: http://www.derby.ac.uk/files/social_safeness_and_pleasure_scale.doc

Reference’s

Gilbert, P., McEwan, K., Mitra, R., Richter, A., Franks, L., Mills, A., Bellew, R. & Gale, C. (2009). An exploration of different types of positive affect in students and patients with bipolar disorder. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 6135-143.

The original scale document is hosted by the University of Derby: http://www.derby.ac.uk/files/social_safeness_and_pleasure_scale.doc

Items of the SOCIAL SAFENESS AND PLEASURE SCALE

Respondents rate the extent to which they agree with each statement on a 5-point scale, typically ranging from 1 (Almost never) to 5 (Almost all the time), corresponding to the scoring range 0 to 4.

1. I feel content within my relationships
2. I feel easily soothed by those around me
3. I feel connected to others
4. I feel part of something greater than myself
5. I have a sense of being cared about in the world
6. I feel secure and wanted
7. I feel a sense of belonging
8. I feel accepted by people
9. I feel understood by people
10. I feel a sense of warmth in my relationships with people
11. I find it easy to feel calmed by people close to me.