scholarly journals Relationships Between Perspective-Taking, Empathic Concern, and Self-rating of Empathy as a Physician Among Medical Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-319
Author(s):  
Jihye Yu ◽  
Sukyung Lee ◽  
Miran Kim ◽  
Kiyoung Lim ◽  
Kihong Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Measurement Instruments ◽  
Korean Student ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Self Rating ◽  
Student Version ◽  
Physician Empathy

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to ascertain the relationships between perspective-taking, empathic concern, and self-rating of empathy as a physician among medical students. Methods This study analyzed the questionnaire responses of 152 medical students enrolled in Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea, in 2018. As measurement instruments, the authors applied the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and Korean Student Version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (Korean JSPE-S), and then examined participant characteristic variables based on the obtained data and conducted subsequent correlation analyses of subscales, one-way ANOVA, and regression analyses. Results Medical students with clinical clerkship experience demonstrated higher levels of perspective-taking and empathy as physicians than did students without experience. Moreover, perspective-taking and empathic concern were significant predictors of medical students’ empathy as physicians in the regression model. Conclusions Medical students with higher scores in perspective-taking and empathic concern demonstrated higher levels of perception regarding the necessity and importance of empathy as a physician in patient-physician relationships. Therefore, in actual medical situations with patient-centered therapy, to enhance the levels of physician empathy, medical education should focus on the understanding of other persons’ opinions and interpersonal interactions accompanied by empathic concern.

The Diabetes Simulation Challenge: Enhancing Patient Perspective-Taking for Medical Students

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Shaffer-Hudkins ◽  
Sara Hinojosa Orbeck ◽  
Kathy Bradley-Klug ◽  
Nicole Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Type 1 Diabetes ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Patient Centered Care ◽  
Chronic Health Condition ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Training Tool ◽  
Centered Care

The Diabetes Simulation Challenge is a unique training tool to foster empathy, a key facet of patient-centered care, for medical students. Thirty-two medical students participated in a 24-hour perspective-taking activity as part of their curriculum, during which they simulated some common experiences of living with a chronic health condition, specifically type 1 diabetes. Students’ written reflections were analyzed using a phenomenological qualitative approach to provide a composite description of the experience. An exhaustive, iterative method of thematic analysis that included manual coding was used to determine whether this activity led to expressions of empathy or thoughts and beliefs consistent with patient-centered health care. Nine unique themes emerged, six of which indicated that students adopted the perspective of an individual with a chronic illness. Most of the students’ reflections illustrated an understanding of the behavioral, social, and emotional challenges related to living with type 1 diabetes, as well as increased empathy toward individuals with the disease. Medical students who aim to provide patient-centered care benefited from this perspective-taking exercise, and training programs should consider using such methods to extend learning beyond traditional didactic education.

Empathic abilities and their mediators in Tunisian psychiatry trainees

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 317-330
Author(s):  
Bochra Nourhene Saguem ◽  
Zeineb Bouzaâbia ◽  
Amel Braham ◽  
Selma Ben Nasr
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to assess empathy dimensions in Tunisian psychiatry trainees and to evaluate their relationship with relevant professional and extra-professional factors. Design/methodology/approach An online questionnaire survey was administered to the psychiatry trainees affiliated in the four faculties of medicine of Tunisia (n = 120). It comprised, in addition to sociodemographic and professional variables, the interpersonal reactivity index, a multidimensional instrument that evaluates perspective taking, empathic concern, personal distress and fantasy. Other self-report measures were used to assess emotion regulation, social support and self-efficacy. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Findings The response rate was 71%. Descriptive statistics showed that personal distress’ scores were lower than the other empathy dimensions’ scores. Perspective taking scores were negatively correlated with emotion regulation difficulties. Personal distress scores were positively correlated with emotion regulation difficulties. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that being an only child significantly contributed to perspective taking and having an extra-professional activity significantly contributed to less personal distress. Perceived stress, social support and having a master’s degree were significant predictors for empathic concern. Self-efficacy was a significant predictor of perspective taking, with emotion regulation difficulties mediating this relationship. Practical implications Interventions dedicated to improve psychiatry trainees’ empathy should focus not only on clinical practice and medical education but also on emotional support and recovery activities. Originality/value A unique feature of this study is the investigation of the potential impacts of emotion regulation difficulties and perceived self-efficacy on empathic abilities of psychiatry trainees.

scholarly journals Religiosity and Psychotic Ideation in Stable Schizophrenia: A Role for Empathic Perspective-Taking

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Rosó Duñó ◽  
Joan Carles Oliva ◽  
Adolf Tobeña ◽  
Diego Palao ◽  
Javier Labad
Keyword(s):  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Interpersonal Reactivity Index ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between religiosity and different components of empathy was explored in schizophrenia patients. A total of 81 stable schizophrenia patients and 95 controls from the nearby community completed self-reported questionnaires assessing religiosity and empathy (through the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, IRI). Patients with schizophrenia showed higher religiousness than controls and they presented less perspective-taking and empathic concern but increased personal distress in IRI scores. Regression analyses unveiled an association between religiosity and perspective-taking in schizophrenics after adjusting for age, gender, and psychotic symptoms. In conclusion, religiosity in patients with schizophrenia may be linked to variations in perspective- taking as a component of empathy.

Parents' Judgments and Students' Self-Judgments of Empathy

2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Cliffordson
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation Modeling ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Factorial Structure ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Interpersonal Reactivity Index

Summary: A sample of 221 adolescents and their parents were asked to complete the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980 ), which is comprised of four subscales: empathic concern, perspective taking, fantasy, and personal distress; and a global-item measure containing four items, one for each subscale. The factorial structure that emerged in a previous study ( Cliffordson, 2000 ) involving the students was tested on ratings provided by their parents. The results from the IRI scale were also compared to results from the global-item measure. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the structure of empathy and the agreement of self/other judgments. The results support the conclusions from the previous study that the concept of empathy can be considered to be identical to empathic concern, which also explains a great deal of perspective taking and fantasy. The agreement between the students' and their parents' judgments was substantial, and there are several reasons to believe that the interjudge agreement obtained is accurate.

scholarly journals Empathy and its associations with sociodemographic and personality characteristics in a large UK population sample

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Sommerlad ◽  
Jonathan Huntley ◽  
Gill Livingston ◽  
Katherine P Rankin ◽  
Daisy Fancourt
Keyword(s):  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Population Sample ◽  
Social Study ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
White Ethnicity ◽  
Younger Age

BackgroundEmpathy is fundamental to social cognition, driving prosocial behaviour and mental health. Self-reported empathy varies across cultures and there are differing reports of associations with demographic characteristics. We therefore aimed in a UK survey to characterise two main self-reported components of empathy, namely empathic concern (feeling compassion) and perspective taking (understanding others’ perspective). We hypothesised that empathy would be associated with age, gender, ethnicity, relationship status, employment, socio-economic status, education, and personality.MethodsWe asked participants in the COVID-19 Social Study - an internet-based survey of UK-dwelling adults aged ≥18 years - to complete the Interpersonal Reactivity Index subscales measuring empathic concern and perspective taking, and sociodemographic and personality questionnaires. We weighted the sample to be UK population representative and employed multivariable weighted linear regression models.ResultsIn 30,033 respondents, mean empathic concern score was 3.86 (95% confidence interval 3.85, 3.88) and perspective taking was 3.57 (3.56. 3.59), the correlation between these subscores was 0.45 (p < 0.001). In adjusted models, greater empathic concern was associated with female gender, non-white ethnicity, having more education, working in health, social-care, or childcare professions, and having higher neuroticism, extroversion, openness to experience and agreeableness traits. Perspective taking was associated with younger age, female gender, more education, employment in health or social-care, neuroticism, openness, and agreeableness.ConclusionsWomen and people working in caring professions have higher empathy levels. Perspective taking declines with age but empathic concern does not. Empathic compassion and understanding are distinct dimensions of empathy with differential associations with demographic factors.

scholarly journals A Preliminary Study of Empathy in Romanian College Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-317
Author(s):  
Valentin Lupu
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Elementary School ◽  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Self Report ◽  
School Level ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Preliminary Study

KeywordsThe Interpersonal Reactivity Index is a self-report instrument used for assessing empathy. The theoretical model of empathy for IRI assumes that empathy is multidimensional in nature containing affective aspects (Empathic Concern and Personal Distress) and cognitive aspects (Perspective Taking and Fantasy). The objective of this study was to compare the level of empathy in Romanian college students to the level of empathy in American college students and to compare empathy in college students based on gender and field of study. The IRI was administered to a sample of 216 Romanian college students. We were interested only on Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking scales. The results revealed that Empathic Concern in Romanian college students is lower than in American college students, women score higher than men on the two scales used and students studying at humanities colleges have a higher Perspective Taking than students studying at science colleges. Our suggestion as a result of this study is to introduce more classes in the curriculum at the elementary school level to teach children empathy using diverse methods.

scholarly journals Empathy and its associations with age and sociodemographic characteristics in a large UK population sample

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257557
Author(s):  
Andrew Sommerlad ◽  
Jonathan Huntley ◽  
Gill Livingston ◽  
Katherine P. Rankin ◽  
Daisy Fancourt
Keyword(s):  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Population Sample ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
White Ethnicity ◽  
Younger Age

Objectives Empathy is fundamental to social cognition, driving prosocial behaviour and mental health but associations with aging and other socio-demographic characteristics are unclear. We therefore aimed to characterise associations of these characteristics with two main self-reported components of empathy, namely empathic-concern (feeling compassion) and perspective-taking (understanding others’ perspective). Methods We asked participants in an internet-based survey of UK-dwelling adults aged ≥18 years to complete the Interpersonal Reactivity Index subscales measuring empathic concern and perspective taking, and sociodemographic and personality questionnaires. We weighted the sample to be UK population representative and employed multivariable weighted linear regression models. Results In 30,033 respondents, mean empathic concern score was 3.86 (95% confidence interval 3.85, 3.88) and perspective taking was 3.57 (3.56. 3.59); the correlation between these sub-scores was 0.45 (p < 0.001). Empathic concern and perspective taking followed an inverse-u shape trajectory in women with peak between 40 and 50 years whereas in men, perspective taking declines with age but empathic concern increases. In fully adjusted models, greater empathic concern was associated with female gender, non-white ethnicity, having more education, working in health, social-care, or childcare professions, and having higher neuroticism, extroversion, openness to experience and agreeableness traits. Perspective taking was associated with younger age, female gender, more education, employment in health or social-care, neuroticism, openness, and agreeableness. Conclusions Empathic compassion and understanding are distinct dimensions of empathy with differential demographic associations. Perspective taking may decline due to cognitive inflexibility with older age whereas empathic concern increases in older men suggesting it is socially-driven.

scholarly journals Feeling Touched: Empathy Is Associated With Performance in a Tactile Acuity Task

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Schaefer ◽  
Marcel Joch ◽  
Nikolas Rother
Keyword(s):  
Personality Trait ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
The Body ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Tactile Acuity ◽  
Somatosensory Cortices ◽  
Trait Empathy ◽  
Healthy Participants

The concept of empathy describes our capacity to understand the emotions and intentions of others and to relate to our conspecifics. Numerous studies investigated empathy as a state as well as a stable personality trait. For example, recent studies in neuroscience suggest, among other brain areas such as the insula or the ACC, a role of the somatosensory cortices for empathy (e.g., when observing someone else being touched). Since the classic understanding of the primary somatosensory cortex is to represent touch on the body surface, we here aimed to test whether tactile performance is linked to the personality trait empathy. To test this, we examined the tactile acuity of 95 healthy participants (mean age 31 years) by using a two-point discrimination threshold task at the index fingers. Trait empathy was assessed by employing the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI), which measures self-reported empathy with four scales (empathic concern, perspective taking, fantasy, and personal distress). Results of regression analyses suggested the subscale empathic concern to be positively associated with performance in the tactile acuity task. We discuss this finding in the light of recent studies on empathy and consider possible implications of tactile training to enhance empathy.

scholarly journals The Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies and Delusion Proneness on Empathetic Tendencies in a Community Sample

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Herms ◽  
Amanda Bolbecker ◽  
Krista Wisner
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Negatively Associated ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Empathic tendencies (i.e., perspective taking and empathic concern) and emotion regulation (i.e., reappraisal and suppression) are key factors in successful social relationships. Relationships can also be negatively impacted by mental health symptoms, including psychosis. While psychotic-like experiences are often detrimental to social functioning, it is unclear whether certain psychotic-like experiences, such as delusions, are negatively associated with empathetic tendencies after accounting for emotion regulation skills and comorbid dimensions of psychopathology. Linear models were employed to test these associations in an adult community sample (N = 128). Measures of interest included the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the Peter’s Delusion Inventory. Results indicated that perspective taking was positively associated with reappraisal and negatively associated with delusional proneness, after controlling for age, sex, race, intelligence, as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, a significant change in R2 supported the addition of delusion proneness in this model. Specificity analyses demonstrated perspective taking was also negatively associated with suppression, but this relationship did not remain after accounting for the effects of reappraisal and delusion proneness in the same model. Additional specificity analyses found no association between empathic concern and reappraisal or delusion proneness but replicated previous findings that empathic concern was negatively associated with suppression. Taken together, findings highlight that delusion proneness accounts for unique variance in interpersonal perspective taking, beyond that explained by demographics, intelligence, reappraisal skills, and internalizing psychopathology.

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