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Ardenghi S, Russo S, Rampoldi G, Bani M, Strepparava MG. Does Medical Curriculum Impact on Empathy? A Longitudinal Study in a Sample of Undergraduate Medical Students. MEDICAL SCIENCE EDUCATOR 2024; 34:873-881. [PMID: 39099873 PMCID: PMC11297006 DOI: 10.1007/s40670-024-02053-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024]
Abstract
Empathy in medical students is receiving increasing attention as it is fundamental to build and develop a functional patient-physician relationship. When looking at its determinants, demographic and academic factors seem to concur in shaping empathy in this population. Although data show strong gender differences and changes in empathy throughout medical school, it is not clear the direction of these changes and whether gender and curriculum features modulate them. This longitudinal study examined changes in empathy and explored gender differences throughout the medical school. Four consecutive cohorts of Italian medical students (N = 336) completed the Jefferson Scale of Empathy - Student (JSE-S) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) in their second year of study (before any clinical clerkship and communication skills courses) and fifth year of study (after a 2-year clinical clerkship and communication skills courses). Analysis of variance for repeated-measures revealed that, beyond the effect of gender, JSE-S total score and IRI Perspective Taking increased, whereas IRI Personal Distress and IRI Fantasy significantly decreased throughout medical school. No significant change in IRI Empathic Concern emerged over time. Student's t-tests showed that female students displayed significantly higher mean scores than their male counterparts for all empathy measures in both their second and fifth years of medical training. The findings suggest that the medical curriculum affects self-reported empathy dimensions among undergraduate medical students. Further research is needed to deepen the understanding of the educational factors that promote the changes in empathy levels during medical training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Ardenghi
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, MB Italy
- Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. San Gerardo dei Tintori, Via Pergolesi 33, 20900 Monza, MB Italy
| | - Selena Russo
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, MB Italy
| | - Giulia Rampoldi
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, MB Italy
| | - Marco Bani
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, MB Italy
| | - Maria Grazia Strepparava
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, MB Italy
- Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. San Gerardo dei Tintori, Via Pergolesi 33, 20900 Monza, MB Italy
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Chen H, Xuan H, Cai J, Liu M, Shi L. The impact of empathy on medical students: an integrative review. BMC MEDICAL EDUCATION 2024; 24:455. [PMID: 38664799 PMCID: PMC11047033 DOI: 10.1186/s12909-024-05448-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Empathy is considered the ability to understand or feel others emotions or experiences. As an important part of medical education, empathy can affect medical students in many ways. It is still lacking a comprehensive evaluation of the existing articles on empathy's impact on medical students, despite the existence of many articles on the topic. OBJECTIVES To summarize the impact of empathy on medical students during medical education from four perspectives: mental health, academic performance, clinical competence, and specialty preference. METHODS The search terms used for retrieval were "empathy", "medical student", "mental health", "depression", "anxiety", "burnout", "examinations", "academic performance", "clinical competence", "specialty preference" on PubMed, EBSCO, and Web of Science before January 2024. The search was carried out by two reviewers. Titles and abstracts were screened independently and reviewed based on inclusion/exclusion criteria. A consensus was drawn on which articles were included. RESULTS Our results indicated that high empathy was a positive factor for mental health, However, students with high affective empathy were more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and burnout. Empathy was found to be unrelated to academic performance, but positively correlated with clinical competence, particularly in terms of communication skills. Medical students with high levels of empathy tended to prefer people-oriented majors. CONCLUSIONS Medical students who score higher on the self-reported empathy scales often have better mental health, better communication skills, and tend to choose people-oriented specialties. But empathy is not related to academic performance. Additionally, the different dimensions of empathy have different impacts on medical students. It is necessary to design targeted courses and training for medical students to enhance their empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Chen
- Department of Neurosurgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150086, China
| | - Hanwen Xuan
- Department of Neurosurgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150086, China
| | - Jinquan Cai
- Department of Neurosurgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150086, China.
| | - Meichen Liu
- Modern Educational Technology Center, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150086, China.
| | - Lei Shi
- School of Health Management, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 511436, China.
- School of Health Management, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
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Baig KS, Hayat MK, Khan MAA, Humayun U, Ahmad Z, Khan MA. Empathy Levels in Medical Students: A Single Center Study. Cureus 2023; 15:e38487. [PMID: 37273396 PMCID: PMC10237306 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.38487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives To determine the level of empathy in medical students and to determine the difference in empathy levels between the two genders in a single center. Materials & methods This qualitative study was conducted at a medical college in Peshawar from March 2021 to July 2021. Institutional ethical committee approval was taken (RMI/RMI-REC/Approval/83) before commencing the study. All students admitted into the medical college in the current academic year 2020 to 2021 were included in the study. Any students that did not fill out the questionnaire completely were excluded. The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) was used in this study. The questionnaire was uploaded on google forms for data collection. All the resulting scores were entered into IBM SPSS version 23.0. The mean TEQ score was calculated. Box and whisker plots were made for respective years. An Independent sample t-test was used to determine the association between mean TEQ scores and gender. Results Of 367 students, 347 (94.6%) participated in this study, with a slight female predominance (53%). The mean age of the students was 21.44 (SD = 1.751) years. The participation rate was ≥70% from each class. Most participants across the years have an above-average empathy score (49.9%). Among the participants, the year I (67.6%) showed most participants with high empathy. Year IV (40.6%) has the highest proportion of below-average empathy scores. The mean empathy score of female students was 49.08 (S.D = 7.588), while the empathy score for male students was 44.59 (S.D = 7.58). Conclusion Empathy levels decline as medical education is progressed through the years. Females show a greater sense of empathy than their male counterparts. A slight increase in empathy levels is seen in the final year of medical school after a decline over the initial years.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Umer Humayun
- Anesthesia, Burns and Plastic Surgery Center, Peshawar, PAK
| | - Zunnoor Ahmad
- General Surgery, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, PAK
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Pitanupong J, Sathaporn K, Ittasakul P, Karawekpanyawong N. Relationship of mental health and burnout with empathy among medical students in Thailand: A multicenter cross-sectional study. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0279564. [PMID: 36602955 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To explore mental health, burnout, and the factors associated with the level of empathy among Thai medical students. BACKGROUND Empathy is an important component of a satisfactory physician-patient relationship. However, distress, including burnout and lack of personal well-being, are recognized to affect a lower level of empathy. MATERIAL AND METHODS A cross-sectional study surveyed sixth-year medical students at three faculties of medicine in Thailand at the end of the 2020 academic year. The questionnaires utilized were: 1) Personal and demographic information questionnaire, 2) Thai Mental Health Indicator-15, 3) The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Thai version, and 4) The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire. All data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and factors associated with empathy level were analyzed via the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, logistic regression., and linear regression. RESULTS There were 336 respondents with a response rate of 70.3%. The majority were female (61.9%). Most participants reported a below-average level of empathy (61%) with a median score (IQR) of 43 (39-40). Assessment of emotion comprehension in others and altruism had the highest median empathy subgroup scores, whereas behaviors engaging higher-order empathic responses had the lowest median empathy subgroup score. One-third of participants (32.1%) had poor mental health, and two-thirds (62.8%) reported a high level of emotional exhaustion even though most of them perceived having a high level of personal accomplishment (97%). The multivariate analysis indicated that mental health was statistically significantly associated with the level of empathy. The participants with higher levels of depersonalization had statistically lower scores of demonstrating appropriate sensitivity, altruism, and behaviors engaging higher-order empathic responding. CONCLUSIONS Most medical students had below-average empathy levels, and two-thirds of them had high emotional exhaustion levels, yet most of them reported having a high level of personal accomplishment and good mental health. There was an association between mental health and the level of empathy. Higher levels of depersonalization related to lower scores of demonstrating sensitivity, altruism, and behaviors responding. Therefore, medical educators should pay close attention to promoting good mental health among medical students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jarurin Pitanupong
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand
| | - Katti Sathaporn
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand
| | - Pichai Ittasakul
- Department of Psychiatry, Ramathibodi Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
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Fradelos EC, Artemi S, Tsalogidou A, Almpani E, Malli F, Lavdaniti M, Papathanasiou IV, Tzavella F. Attitudes toward older people among nursing students in Greece. Nurs Forum 2022; 57:1153-1161. [PMID: 36308416 DOI: 10.1111/nuf.12809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The age profile of the population has shifted globally. Age discrimination has been documented, particularly in the areas of health and employment. AIM This study aims at examining nursing students' attitudes toward older people and dehumanization of older people among nursing students. METHODS A cross-sectional design was employed in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data, which included a sociodemographic variables questionnaire, the Kogan's Attitude towards Old People Scale (KAOP) scale, a modified version of the Human Nature & Human Uniqueness Scale, the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) and the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire. A total of 410 undergraduate nursing students participated in this study. Descriptive statistics were applied while inferential statistics such as Pearson correlation, and regression analysis with the stepwise method were also performed. The significant level was set as p ≤ .05. SPSS-25 was used for the analysis of data. RESULTS The total mean score of the KAOP scale was 128.84 ± 14.32, indicating that nursing students had a slightly positive view of older individuals. Nursing students scored higher on the mechanistic dehumanization scale than on the animalistic dehumanization one. A strong negative association was found between Mechanistic and Animalistic dehumanization with the KAOP scale and empathy. Year of study, age, and gender were identified as predictor variables for mechanical dehumanization. CONCLUSION Personality traits, demographic variables, and nursing students' level of empathy are factors that influence their views about older people and the dehumanization of older people.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Areti Tsalogidou
- Department of Nursing, International Hellenic University, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Eleni Almpani
- Department of Nursing, University of Patra, Patra, Greece
| | - Foteini Malli
- Department of Nursing, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Maria Lavdaniti
- Department of Nursing, International Hellenic University, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Foteini Tzavella
- Department of Nursing, University of Peloponnese, Tripoli, Greece
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Sathaporn K, Pitanupong J. Factors associated with the improvement of the empathy levels among clinical-year medical students in Southern Thailand: a university-based cross-sectional study. BMC Psychol 2022; 10:128. [PMID: 35598029 PMCID: PMC9123733 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-022-00842-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Empathy is one of the core medical professionalisms that distress, burnout, and lack of personal well-being is also recognized as an important influencer on lower empathy levels. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the mental health, burnout, and factors associated with the empathy levels among Thai, clinical-year medical students. METHODS This cross-sectional study surveyed all fourth-to sixth-year medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, in Thailand; at the end of the 2020 academic year. The questionnaires utilized were: (1) The personal and demographic information questionnaire, (2) The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire, (3) Thai Mental Health Indicator-15, and (4) The Maslach Burnout Inventory; Thai version. All data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and factors associated with empathy levels were analyzed via the chi-square test and logistic regressions. RESULTS There were 466 participants, with a response rate of 91.5%. The majority were female (56.2%), and reported a below-average level of empathy (57.1%); with a median score (IQR) of 44 (40-48). The gender proportion of a below-average empathy level among male and female participants was 66.3% and 50.4%, respectively. Of the participants, 29.6% had poor mental health, 63.5% and 39.7% reported a high level of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scores; even though most of them (96.6%) perceived having a high level of personal accomplishment. Multivariate analysis indicated that females, higher mental health, and a low level of depersonalization were statistically significant protective factors, which improved the empathy levels. CONCLUSIONS More than half of the clinical-year medical students reported below-average empathy levels. Female gender, better mental health, and a low level of depersonalization were related to the improvement of the empathy levels. Therefore, medical educators should emphasize the importance of focusing supporting students, of all genders and in regards to all stages of medical education, to increase their levels of empathy, to promote individual well-being, and to effectively prevent the phenomenon of student 'burnout'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katti Sathaporn
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, 90110, Songkhla, Thailand
| | - Jarurin Pitanupong
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, 90110, Songkhla, Thailand.
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Voultsos P, Chatzinikolaou F, Papana A, Deliligka A. Reliability of Greek version of the Toronto empathy questionnaire in medical students and associations with sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. BMC Psychol 2022; 10:113. [PMID: 35501889 PMCID: PMC9063083 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-022-00824-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Empathy is an important key driver of any therapeutic relationship. It is beneficial for both physicians and patients. Enhancing physician's empathy should be an important goal of medical education. As there was a literature gap regarding the topic of empathy among medical students in Greece, this study aimed to contribute to filling this gap. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted. A socio-demographic questionnaire and the 52-item Greek version of the Toronto composite empathy scale (TCES) for measuring the cognitive and emotional aspects of empathy in both personal and professional life was administered to all the medical students in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in Greece. Descriptive statistics were displayed for demographics. The associations of the variables were quantified by Chi-2 independence tests and Pearson's Correlation Coefficient. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire was determined by Cronbach's α, Hotelling's T-Squared Test, and Pearson correlation. Paired and Independent Sample T-Tests and One-way ANOVAs indicated statistically significant mean differences among the variables or subgroups of the variables. RESULTS The 52-item TCES, 26 for the personal (Per) setting and another 26 for professional (Pro) life, equally divided into cognitive (Cog) and emotional (Emo) empathy in each case. The overall reliability of the TCES questionnaire was found to be high (Cronbach's α = 0.895, significant positive correlations between the subscales). The mean total score of empathy showed that students had a moderately high empathy. Further, there was a statistically significant difference in means between the Per-Cog and Per-Emo settings (p < 0.001), the Pro-Cog and Pro-Emo (p < 0.001), the Per-Cog and Pro-Cog (p = 0.004), and the Per-Emo and Pro-Emo (p < 0.001). Females had significantly higher empathy scores (mean score 208.04) than males (192.5) on the Per-Cog, Per-Emo and Pro-Emo subscales. Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between empathy and factors such as love for animals, interest in medical ethics, belief in God, having an ill person in the family, class year or carrier intention. CONCLUSIONS The TCES is applicable to medical students. For the most part our findings were consistent with previous literature. However, we identified some nuances that might draw researchers' attention. The results of this study may contribute to plan interventions in the curriculum to enhance empathy in the medical students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Polychronis Voultsos
- Laboratory of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (Medical Law and Ethics), School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University, University Campus, 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
| | - Fotios Chatzinikolaou
- Laboratory of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (Medical Law and Ethics), School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University, University Campus, 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Angeliki Papana
- Department of Economics, School of Economics and Regional Studies, University of Macedonia, Egnatia Str 156, 546 36, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Aspasia Deliligka
- AHEPA University Hospital, Kiriakidi Str 1, 546 21, Thessaloniki, Greece
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Samarasekera DD, Lee SS, Yeo SP, Ponnamperuma G. Development of student empathy during medical education: changes and the influence of context and training. KOREAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL EDUCATION 2022; 34:17-26. [PMID: 35255613 PMCID: PMC8906926 DOI: 10.3946/kjme.2022.216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Empathy levels have been observed to often decrease when medical undergraduates move to the clinical years, particularly in the Western countries. However, empathy either remains similar or increases in many Asian medical schools. This study investigated the longitudinal empathy profile of medical students in Singapore. METHODS Two cohorts of medical students who enrolled in 2013 and 2014 to the National University of Singapore were tracked for 5 years. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy-student version was used. Analyses on the mean of the empathy level and individual factors, year-wise and gender comparison were conducted. RESULTS Average response rates for cohort 1 and 2 were 68.1% (n=181-263) and 55.4% (n=81-265), respectively. For both cohorts, there was no significant change across year of study in the mean empathy score. Average scores for both cohorts were 113.94 and 115.66. Though not significant, we observed mean empathy to be lowest at the end of year 5 (112.74) and highest in year 2 (114.72) for cohort 1 while for cohort 2, the lowest level of empathy was observed in year 5 (114.20) and highest in year 4 (118.42). Analysis of subcomponents of empathy only showed a significant difference for cohort one factor 1 (perspective taking) and factor 3 (standing in patients' shoes) across the study years. CONCLUSION No significant change in empathy score was observed during the transition from pre-clinical to clinical years, unlike many Western and Far-Eastern studies. This might be due to the curriculum and influence of the Asian values.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dujeepa D. Samarasekera
- Centre for Medical Education (CenMED), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Shuh Shing Lee
- Centre for Medical Education (CenMED), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Su Ping Yeo
- Centre for Medical Education (CenMED), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Gominda Ponnamperuma
- Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
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Greenmyer JR, Montgomery M, Hosford C, Burd M, Miller V, Storandt MH, Lakpa KL, Tiongson C. Guilt and Burnout in Medical Students. TEACHING AND LEARNING IN MEDICINE 2022; 34:69-77. [PMID: 33722144 DOI: 10.1080/10401334.2021.1891544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
THEORY Burnout is prevalent among medical students and is correlated with negative feelings, behaviors, and outcomes. Empathy is a desired trait for medical students that has been correlated with reduced burnout. The concept of guilt is closely related to concern about the well-being of others; therefore, feelings of guilt may be associated with empathy. Excessive guilt poses an increased risk for internalized distress, symptoms such as anhedonia, and may be related to burnout. The relationship between pathogenic guilt and burnout in medical students is unknown. HYPOTHESIS We hypothesize that pathogenic guilt is present and related to both burnout and empathy in medical students. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional survey study of all students in one medical school. Data were collected in February 2020. The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OBLI), Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ), and Interpersonal Guilt Questionaire-67 (IGQ-67) were used. A modified version of IGQ-67 was used to measure four subscales of pathogenic guilt: survival guilt, separation guilt, omnipotence guilt, and self-hate guilt. Data analyses for this study including screening, evaluation of assumptions, descriptive statistics, reliabilities, one-way ANOVA, and correlation coefficients, were conducted using SPSS version 26. RESULTS Of 300, 168 (56.0%) students participated in the study. Survival, omnipotence, and self-hate classes of pathogenic guilt were positively correlated with burnout. Empathy was correlated with two classes of pathogenic guilt: survival and omnipotence. Empathy was inversely related to burnout (disengagement). CONCLUSIONS Pathogenic guilt may be a contributor to burnout in medical students. Guilt should be a target of prevention and treatment in burnout in medical students. UNLABELLED Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10401334.2021.1891544.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob R Greenmyer
- Department of Community Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
| | - Michelle Montgomery
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
| | - Charles Hosford
- Educational Resources, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
| | - Michael Burd
- Public Health Program, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
| | - Vanessa Miller
- Department of Family Medicine, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
| | - Michael H Storandt
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
| | - Koffi L Lakpa
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
| | - Christopher Tiongson
- Department of Pediatrics, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
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Ursoniu S, Serban CL, Giurgi-Oncu C, Rivis IA, Bucur A, Bredicean AC, Papava I. Validation of the Romanian Version of the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) among Undergraduate Medical Students. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph182412871. [PMID: 34948481 PMCID: PMC8701033 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182412871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Medical professionals require adequate abilities to identify others’ emotions and express personal emotions. We aimed to determine the validity and reliability of an empathy measuring tool in medical students for this study. We employed Spreng’s Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) as a starting point for this validation. The process was performed in several steps, including an English-Romanian-English translation and a focus group meeting to establish each question’s degree of understandability and usability, with minor improvements of wording in each step. We checked internal and external consistency in a pilot group (n = 67). For construct and convergent validity, we used a sample of 649 students. The overall internal and external reliability performed well, with Cronbach’s alpha = 0.727 and respective ICC = 0.776. The principal component analysis resulted in 3 components: prosocial helping behavior, inappropriate sensitivity, dismissive attitude. Component 1 includes positively worded questions, and components 2 and 3 include negatively worded questions. Women had significantly higher scores than men in convergent validity, but we did not highlight any differences for other demographic factors. The Romanian version of the TEQ is a reliable and valid tool to measure empathy among undergraduate medical students that may be further used in subsequent research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sorin Ursoniu
- Department of Functional Sciences, Discipline of Public Health, Center for Translational Research and Systems Medicine, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania; (S.U.); (C.L.S.)
| | - Costela Lacrimioara Serban
- Department of Functional Sciences, Discipline of Public Health, Center for Translational Research and Systems Medicine, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania; (S.U.); (C.L.S.)
| | - Catalina Giurgi-Oncu
- Department of Neuroscience, Discipline of Psychiatry, Center for Cognitive Research in Neuropsychiatric Pathology (NeuroPsy-Cog), “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania; (C.G.-O.); (A.-C.B.); (I.P.)
| | - Ioana Alexandra Rivis
- Department of Neuroscience, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania;
| | - Adina Bucur
- Department of Functional Sciences, Discipline of Public Health, Center for Translational Research and Systems Medicine, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania; (S.U.); (C.L.S.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +40-723-786442
| | - Ana-Cristina Bredicean
- Department of Neuroscience, Discipline of Psychiatry, Center for Cognitive Research in Neuropsychiatric Pathology (NeuroPsy-Cog), “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania; (C.G.-O.); (A.-C.B.); (I.P.)
- Psychiatry Compartment, “Dr. Victor Popescu” Emergency Military Clinical Hospital, 300080 Timișoara, Romania
| | - Ion Papava
- Department of Neuroscience, Discipline of Psychiatry, Center for Cognitive Research in Neuropsychiatric Pathology (NeuroPsy-Cog), “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania; (C.G.-O.); (A.-C.B.); (I.P.)
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