The Structure of Bryant's Empathy Index for Children: A Cross-Validation Study

Questionnaire Measures of Empathy in Children: A Scoping Review

Children's unique developmental and contextual needs make it challenging to measure empathy validly and reliably. This scoping review is the first to collate currently available information about self-report, other-report, and performance-based questionnaire measures of empathy for children aged up to 11 years. Following the guidelines for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR; Tricco et al., 2018), a literature search using PsycINFO, Scopus, and Google Scholar identified 24 relevant measures of empathy in children, with publication years spanning 1958 to 2019. Questionnaires could broadly be classified into four groups, according to the extent to which they were developed with children's developmental needs and contexts in mind, and were based on contemporary theory and research findings. There was a distinction between performance-based measures, which elicited children's empathy-related responses to novel content and therefore assessed situational state empathy, and self- and other-report measures, which rated children's general empathic tendencies and thus assessed dispositional trait empathy. Results highlighted the importance of researchers having clarity on their definition of empathy and choosing measures consistent with this, and the merit of utilizing a multimodal assessment approach.

Children’s and Adolescents’ Pet Attachment, Empathy, and Compassionate Responding to Self and Others

The research shows that children’s and adolescents’ attachments with pets play an important role in their social and emotional lives. However, little research exists on how children and adolescents show compassion toward themselves and others and how this caring ability relates to their attachment with pets. This study explored the relations among children’s and adolescents’ compassion, empathy, and attachment to their pets. Sixty-one Canadian youths aged 7–15.9 years (M = 11.35) participated in this study (n = 38 g, 23 b) and completed self-report questionnaires including the Lexington Attachment to Pets scale, subscale of Dispositional Positive Emotions, Self-compassion scale for children, and Bryant’s Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents (IECA). The results showed older adolescents were more likely than younger children to score high on cognitive and emotional dimensions of empathy and be less likely to feel alone and isolated. High levels of emotional pet attachment related to high levels of the ability to feel sad when witnessing others in distress and high levels of mindful, compassionate, and self-responding feelings of compassion for others. The results also showed that those participants who experienced intensified emotional attachment toward their pets (either current or in the past), were less likely to judge themselves in negative ways. Overall, our findings suggest that children’s emotional attachments with pets relate to their ability to respond to themselves and others in kind and compassionate ways and not necessarily their ability to understand another person’s emotions.

Psychometric Properties of the Psychological State Test for Athletes (TEP)

This study has two objectives: to validate an adapted online version of the Psychological State Test (TEP, in its Spanish acronym); and to assess differences in pre-competitive psychological state profiles between amateur and professional athletes in team sports. The TEP questionnaire is an instrument which is used to assess, in a quick and simple fashion, the psychological state of athletes prior to competing. Its psychometric properties were evaluated by means of an analysis of internal consistency, an Exploratory Factor Analysis and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The EFA’s results showed a factorial structure consisting of two principal factors and reliability coefficients, both globally and at the factor level, which can be considered acceptable (global α = 0.81; Factor 1 α = 0.85; and Factor 2 α = 0.73). The CFA confirmed the model proposed by the EFA so that the items were distributed around these factors, giving rise to one factor which includes variables that have a positive relationship with performance, and another with variables that negatively affect performance. Meanwhile, regarding the difference between the pre-competitive psychological state of amateurs and professionals, professional athletes presented higher levels of Motivation (p = 0.5 and d = −0.23). It is concluded that the TEP is a suitable tool for the evaluation of pre-competitive psychological states. However, in future research, this study should be complemented by analyzing the TEP’s predictive validity in terms of the performance of athletes and/or teams, as well as its use as a tool available to athletes and coaches.

Bryant's Empathy Index: Structure and Measurement Invariance across Gender in a Sample of Primary School-Aged Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the dimensional structure and measurement invariance of Bryant's Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents (IECA) (Bryant, 1982) across gender in a representative sample of primary school-aged children in Spain. The sample consisted of 2,050 children (50.80% girls), with a mean age of 9.80 years (SD = 1.24), recruited from 27 primary schools. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. The model that presented the best fit indices was Lasa, Holgado, Carrasco, and del Barrio's (2008) three-factor model: Understanding Feelings, Feelings of Sadness, and Tearful Reaction. The levels of internal consistency for the subscales ranged from .76 to .83. In addition, the results partially support the measurement invariance of the IECA across gender. When the latent means of the empathy dimensions were compared across gender, statistically significant differences were found. These results coincide with those found in the literature showing the multidimensionality of the IECA. Specifically, the findings support its three-factor structure and its invariance across gender, making it a very useful instrument for exploring the expression of empathy in primary school children.

Validación Estructural de la Escala Básica de Empatía (Basic Empathy Scale) Modificada en Adolescentes: un Estudio Preliminar

<p>Se hizo un estudio preliminar para verificar la estructura de una versión de 9 ítems de la Escala Básica de Empatía (EBE), un instrumento que evalúa la empatía afectiva y cognitiva. Los participantes fueron 135 adolescentes entre 11 y 18 años (M=14, DE=1.4) de educación regular, en una región urbana de Lima Metropolitana. Se usó metodología de ecuaciones estructurales para confirmar la estructura, y la transformación Schmid-Leiman para evaluar el modelo bi-dimensional. Los resultados indican que un modelo oblicuo de dos factores es satisfactorio para los datos, la confiabilidad es superior a .70, y no se justifica la interpretación de un solo puntaje tal como anteriormente se hacía. Se discuten las diferencias en la interpretación de los modelos y la valoración de la metodología factorial.</p>

A preliminary investigation of moral reasoning and empathy after traumatic brain injury in adolescents

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained during childhood can affect a number of socio-cognitive skills; however, little attention has focused on the integrity of moral reasoning in the assessment of post-TBI social sequelae and the role of empathy and intelligence on moral maturity.

RESEARCH DESIGN

In a quasi-experimental, cross-sectional research design, moral reasoning maturity and empathy in adolescents with mild-to-severe TBI (n = 25) were compared to typically-developing peers (n = 66).

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

Participants were administered the So-Moral and So-Mature, tasks of socio-moral reasoning and maturity, the Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence and a demographic questionnaire.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

Participants with TBI had significantly lower levels of moral reasoning maturity. Further, adolescents with moderate-to-severe TBI had lower levels of empathy. Empathy correlated positively with moral reasoning abilities and, together with intellectual function, predicted a small, but significant proportion of moral reasoning outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Youth who sustained TBI during childhood have poorer moral reasoning abilities than their non-injured peers, potentially placing them at risk for poor social decision-making and socially maladaptive behaviour. This can have a significant impact on long-term social functioning.

Perceptions of aggressive conflicts and others' distress in children with callous-unemotional traits: 'I'll show you who's boss, even if you suffer and I get in trouble'

BACKGROUND

Children with callous-unemotional (CU) traits may have a particularly malevolent view of social conflicts and a pervasive insensitivity to others' distress. The current study examined whether children with CU traits have unique expectations and values regarding the consequences of aggressive conflicts and a ubiquitous lack of concern for others' feelings independent of co-occurring aggression.

METHODS

Participants were 96 (46 males, 50 females) children recruited from elementary schools within an urban city. Associations between CU traits and child reports of outcome expectancies/values following aggressive conflicts and facets of empathy were examined after controlling for aggression, academic abilities, and demographic covariates.

RESULTS

Children with higher CU traits were less likely to expect that aggression would result in victim suffering and feelings of remorse. After controlling for co-occurring aggression, children with higher CU traits were more likely to expect that aggression would result in peer dominance, while children with higher levels of aggression were more likely to expect that attacking others would reduce their aversive behavior. Children with higher CU traits were less concerned that aggressive behavior would result in punishment, victim suffering, and feelings of remorse. Moreover, children with higher CU traits reported lower levels of empathetic concern and sadness in response to others' distress outside of aggressive conflicts.

CONCLUSIONS

Children with CU traits tend to minimize the extent to which aggression causes victim suffering and openly acknowledge caring less about distress and suffering in others. They are less intimidated by the possibility of being punished for aggressive behavior and tend to view aggression as an effective means for dominating others. In sum, children with CU traits have a particularly malicious social schema that may be difficult to change using conventional treatment methods.