The Basic Empathy Scale adapted to French middle childhood: Structure and development of empathy

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.

Early Adolescent Cognitive and Affective Empathy

Abstract. Cognitive and affective empathy have diverging relations to social–emotional adjustment. However, particularly during adolescence, these associations are not thoroughly understood. Using the Basic Empathy Scale (BES), we examined cognitive and affective empathy (including emotional contagion and emotional disconnection) in association with social–emotional adjustment (negative affect, shyness, social self-efficacy, friendship quality, and peer victimization) in early adolescents ( N = 321). Cognitive empathy and emotional contagion showed divergent links (cognitive empathy was related to positive adjustment, while emotional contagion was related to negative adjustment but also higher friendship quality). Emotional disconnection was negatively associated with social self-efficacy, supporting affective empathy as having multiple factors itself. The findings further validate the BES as a three-factor measure and have implications for understanding social–emotional adjustment in youth.

Validación de una escala de empatía para niños, niñas y adolescentes colombianos

Los estudios de empatía requieren abordar procesos afectivos, cognitivos y sociales asociados con la maduración individual, que permiten comprender la interacción social desde las disposiciones emocionales básicas. El objetivo de este estudio fue validar la escala de empatía desarrollada por Richaud, Lemos, Mesurado y Oros (2017) en una muestra de niños, niñas y adolescentes colombianos de 9 a 14 años, describiendo sus propiedades psicométricas. Para lograr este objetivo se aplicaron tres procedimientos: primero, la validez de constructo y la confiabilidad; segundo, la validez convergente, utilizando las escalas IRI (Davis, 1983) de empatía y la prosocialidad desde Caprara y Pastorelli (1993); tercero, se establecieron comparaciones de invariancia por edad y sexo en la muestra colombiana. Los resultados mostraron buenos índices de validez de constructo (Chi cuadrado/ fd = 1.72; GFI = 0.96; AGFI = 0.95, CFI = 0.94 e IFI = 0.94). La escala validada mostró buenos índices de correlación con IRI tomando dimensión de perspectiva (0,122; p <0,001) y la escala de Caprara y Pastorelli (0,204; p <0,001). El nivel de error probado fue aceptable (RMR = 0.00 y RMSEA = 0.03). Estos índices probaron que la escala de estructura de cinco factores, propuesta por Richaud, Lemos, Mesurado y Oros (2017), se confirma en la muestra colombiana. Los resultados señalaron que la escala no es invariable a través del sexo (∆CFI = 0.03) pero se confirma a través de la edad (∆CFI = 0.00). La escala validada es apropiada para medir la variable de empatía en la muestra colombiana.

Basic Empathy Scale: A Systematic Review and Reliability Generalization Meta-Analysis

The Basic Empathy Scale (BES) has been internationally used to measure empathy. A systematic review including 74 articles that implement the instrument since its development in 2006 was carried out. Moreover, an evidence validity analysis and a reliability generalization meta-analysis were performed to examine if the scale presented the appropriate values to justify its application. Results from the systematic review showed that the use of the BES is increasing, although the research areas in which it is being implemented are currently being broadened. The validity analyses indicated that both the type of factor analysis and reliability are reported in validation studies much more than the consequences of testing are. Regarding the meta-analysis results, the mean of Cronbach's α for cognitive empathy was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.77-0.85), with high levels of heterogeneity (I2 = 98.81%). Regarding affective empathy, the mean of Cronbach's α was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.76-0.84), with high levels of heterogeneity. It was concluded that BES is appropriate to be used in general population groups, although not recommended for clinical diagnosis; and there is a moderate to high heterogeneity in the mean of Cronbach's α. The practical implications of the results in mean estimation and heterogeneity are discussed.

Measures of empathy in children and adolescents: A systematic review of questionnaires

BACKGROUND

Empathy has long been considered a multidimensional construct, encompassing cognitive, affective and behavioral domains. Deficits in empathic competences in early childhood contribute to psychopathology, and have been variably implicated in several clinical conditions, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and conduct disorders.

AIM

To identify and describe empirically validated questionnaires assessing empathy in children and adolescents and to provide a summary of related theoretical perspectives on empathy definitional issues.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Three bibliographic databases were searched. A total of 47 studies were selected for final analysis and 16 distinct measures were identified and described.

RESULTS

Questionable to excellent levels of internal consistency were observed, while few studies assessed test-retest reliability. Although construct definitions only partially overlapped, affective and cognitive domains of empathy were the commonest internal factors that were often separately evaluated. New facets of the construct (i.e., somatic empathy and sympathy) and specific clinical populations (i.e., ASD) could be specifically addressed through more recent instruments.

CONCLUSION

The combination of different assessment methods is recommended in order to foresee further improvements in this field and try to overcome the problem of limited convergence with more objective measures.

Aggression, Moral Disengagement and Empathy. A Longitudinal Study Within the Interpersonal Dynamics of Bullying

Moral disengagement and empathy have been linked to aggression in traditional bullying. A number of longitudinal studies have focused on how these variables predict aggressive behavior within the dynamics of bullying. However, no conclusive results have been produced as to whether aggressive behavior in bullying can predict lower levels of empathy, and to date, no studies have explored in depth the mediating role of moral disengagement strategies in this relationship, which is the aim of this study. A total of 1,810 students (51.0% girls; M_age = 14.50; SD = 1.05) completed a survey in three waves at 6-month intervals. The results showed that aggressive behavior in bullying at Time 1 was inversely related to affective and cognitive empathy at Time 3. Minimization of responsibility, distortion of consequences and dehumanizing mediated in the aggressive behavior exhibited by the bullying aggressors and in cognitive empathy, while cognitive restructuring and the distortion of consequences mediated in affective empathy. We discuss the impact on moral and emotional sensitivity of the continued aggression occurring in the interpersonal dynamics of bullying, as well as the relationship between certain strategies of moral disengagement and the different types of empathy. We also comment on the need to design intervention programs to address the lowering of moral criteria and empathy in young people and adolescents involved in traditional bullying.

Emotion dysregulation in adults suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a comparison with borderline personality disorder (BPD)

BACKGROUND

Emotional dysregulation (ED) is now considered as an important symptom of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is believed to have a considerable impact on the severity of the disorder, one's global functioning, and the prognosis. Our research aimed to evaluate and compare ED and cognitive emotional regulation strategies between ADHD and borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients.

METHODS

Four hundred six French-speaking outpatients (N = 279 ADHD, N = 70 BPD, N = 60 BPD + ADHD) were assessed with the Emotion Reactivity Scale (ERS), the Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), The Basic Empathy Scale (BES-A), the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ARSV-v1.1) and the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). ADHD, BPD and comorbid patients were compared with each other and with samples of controls extracted from already published data.

RESULTS

ADHD patients, although having higher ED than samples derived from the general population, had less ED, better control over their emotions with higher use of adaptive cognitive strategies and lesser use of non-adaptive strategies than BPD patients. However, ADHD subjects had similar scores as BPD subjects when looking at difficulties in perceiving self and others. ED generated considerable distress in all groups and was also positively associated with ADHD symptomatology. ADHD patients with comorbid BPD had the highest scores of ED.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that there may be similarly inefficient cognitive emotional regulation skills leading to ED in both disorders (ADHD and BPD). However, ADHD patients showed a higher use of adaptive cognitive emotional strategies and a lower level of ED than BPD patients.

The Capricious Nature of Theory of Mind: Does Mental State Understanding Depend on the Characteristics of the Target?

Using a between-groups design and random assignment, this study examined 214 Turkish children's (M = 11.66 years) mindreading and general reasoning about in-group members (Turks), similar out-group members (Syrians within Turkey) and dissimilar out-group members (Northern Europeans). Children heard four mindreading and four general reasoning stories with in-group or out-group members as targets. Whereas children's general reasoning about three groups was equivalent, accuracy of mental state inferences differed by target with more accurate mindreading of in-group targets compared to both sets of out-group targets. In this Turkish sample, mindreading of Syrian targets was the least accurate. Prejudice and perceived realistic threat predicted lower mindreading. These findings have important implications for understanding how similarity and intergroup processes play a role in children's mindreading.

Suitability of a three-dimensional model to measure empathy and its relationship with social and normative adjustment in Spanish adolescents: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

(1) To examine the psychometric properties of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) with Spanish adolescents, comparing a two and a three-dimensional structure;(2) To analyse the relationship between the three-dimensional empathy and social and normative adjustment in school.

DESIGN

Transversal and ex post facto retrospective study. Confirmatory factorial analysis, multifactorial invariance analysis and structural equations models were used.

PARTICIPANTS

747 students (51.3% girls) from Cordoba, Spain, aged 12-17 years (M=13.8; SD=1.21).

RESULTS

The original two-dimensional structure was confirmed (cognitive empathy, affective empathy), but a three-dimensional structure showed better psychometric properties, highlighting the good fit found in confirmatory factorial analysis and adequate internal consistent valued, measured with Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega. Composite reliability and average variance extracted showed better indices for a three-factor model. The research also showed evidence of measurement invariance across gender. All the factors of the final three-dimensional BES model were direct and significantly associated with social and normative adjustment, being most strongly related to cognitive empathy.

CONCLUSIONS

This research supports the advances in neuroscience, developmental psychology and psychopathology through a three-dimensional version of the BES, which represents an improvement in the original two-factorial model. The organisation of empathy in three factors benefits the understanding of social and normative adjustment in adolescents, in which emotional disengagement favours adjusted peer relationships. Psychoeducational interventions aimed at improving the quality of social life in schools should target these components of empathy.

Construct Validity and Reliability of a New Spanish Empathy Questionnaire for Children and Early Adolescents

Empathy is a basic socio-emotional process of human development that involves the ability to perceive, share, and understand the emotional states of others. This process is essential to successful social functioning. However, despite its significance, empathy has been difficult to define and measure, particularly when incorporating both its emotional and cognitive aspects. The purpose of this study was to develop an Empathy Questionnaire for children aged 9-12 years based on a model of social cognitive neuroscience and to analyze its construct validity and reliability. This questionnaire aimed to integrate the following aspects: emotional contagion, self-other awareness, perspective-taking, emotional regulation, and empathic action. Three studies were conducted. Study 1 evaluated the discriminative power of the items and studied the underlying structure of the instrument using exploratory factor analysis. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the model obtained. Finally, the goal of Study 3 was to analyze the convergent and discriminant validity of the questionnaire and the internal consistency of its dimensions. The final version of the instrument contained 15 items that operationalized the previously listed dimensions. The results of the 3 studies indicated that the questionnaire had good validity and reliability. This study has important implications for research and clinical practice. Given its simplicity and brevity, this new self-report scale may work well as a screening method to evaluate the key psychological issues underlying numerous child behaviors that predict the success or failure of social relationships, individual quality of life, and mental well-being.