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

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.

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-317
Author(s):  
Valentin Lupu

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Rosó Duñó ◽  
Joan Carles Oliva ◽  
Adolf Tobeña ◽  
Diego Palao ◽  
Javier Labad

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.


2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Cliffordson

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelley Haines ◽  
Seung Hwan (Mark) Lee

PurposeThis study segmented consumers by combining emotional and shopping characteristics to develop typologies that classify their consumption patterns and disposal behaviors.Design/methodology/approachTo identify segments of fashion consumers, an online questionnaire was administered measuring emotional and shopping characteristics, including perspective taking, empathic concern, personal distress, hedonism, and frugality. An online questionnaire involving 168 US-based participants were used to accomplish the purpose of the study. A cluster analysis was conducted to identify segments of participants based on these variables. Consumption patterns and disposal behavior, including motivation to buy environmentally friendly items, consciousness for sustainable consumption, buying impulsiveness, likelihood to follow fashion trends, and tendencies to dispose of or repair damaged or unwanted items were also measured via the questionnaire as dependent variables to be predicted by identified segments.FindingsThree clusters of consumers were identified as: Distressed and Self-Oriented, Warm and Thrifty, and Cold and Frivolous. Distressed and Self-Oriented individuals reported the highest levels of personal distress and hedonism. Warm and Thrifty individuals reported the highest levels of empathic concern, perspective taking and frugality, and the lowest levels of personal distress and hedonism. Cold and Frivolous individuals reported the lowest levels of perspective taking, empathic concern, and frugality.Originality/valueThe classification of consumers into segments brings a new dimension to the field of sustainable fashion. Clusters were created according to the variables of emotional characteristics (i.e. perspective taking, empathic concern, and personal distress) and shopping characteristics (i.e. hedonism and frugality). The analysis unveiled three distinct clusters that can be utilized to develop tailored strategies to successfully promote sustainable fashion consumption.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Herms ◽  
Amanda Bolbecker ◽  
Krista Wisner

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.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Naira Delgado ◽  
Helena Bonache ◽  
Moisés Betancort ◽  
Yurena Morera ◽  
Lasana T. Harris

It is generally accepted that empathy should be the basis of patient care. However, this ideal may be unrealistic if healthcare professionals suffer adverse effects when engaging in empathy. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of inferring mental states and different components of empathy (perspective-taking; empathic concern; personal distress) in burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion; depersonalization; personal accomplishment). A total of 184 healthcare professionals participated in the study (23% male, Mage = 44.60; SD = 10.46). We measured participants’ empathy, the inference of mental states of patients, and burnout. Correlation analyses showed that inferring mental states was positively associated with perspective-taking and with empathic concern, but uncorrelated with personal distress. Furthermore, emotional exhaustion was related to greater levels of personal distress and greater levels of inferences of mental states. Depersonalization was associated with greater levels of personal distress and lower levels of empathic concern. Personal accomplishment was associated with the inference of mental states in patients, lower levels of personal distress, and perspective-taking. These results provide a better understanding of how different components of empathy and mental state inferences may preserve or promote healthcare professionals’ burnout.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-06
Author(s):  
Shameem Fatima

Objective: The objectives of the study were twofold: i) to assess whether depression independently predicts four quality of life (QOL) domains in CVD patients; and ii) whether depression interacts with self-efficacy and perceived social support to predict QOL domains among cardiovascular diseases (CVD) patients. Methods: Participants were 174 CVD patients taken from three major government sector hospitals of Lahore who were assessed on self-report measures of depression, self-efficacy, social support and QOL. Results: It was found that depression was a significant negative predictor of all four QOL domains among CVD patients. Furthermore, results from regression analysis demonstrated that depression significantly interacted with self-efficacy to predict physical and environmental QOL. Additionally, depression interacted with social support to physical and social QOL. Specially, depression was a stronger negative predictor of QOL domains at lower levels of self-efficacy and social support while it was a poor predictor at higher levels of self-efficacy and support. Conclusion: It was concluded that social support and self-efficacy act as buffering factors against devastating effects of depression on QOL among CVD patients.


2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 429-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Kostic ◽  
Milkica Nesic ◽  
Miodrag Stankovic ◽  
Olivera Zikic ◽  
Jasminka Markovic

Background/Aim. According to currently available data, there is no research dealing with evaluating empathy in adolescents with conduct disorders in our region. The aim of the research was to examine the differences in the severity of cognitive and affective empathy in adolescents with and with no conduct disorder, as well as to examine the relationship between cognitive and affective empathy and the level of externalization in adolescents with conduct disorder. Methods. This research was conducted on 171 adolescents, aged 15 to 18, using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Youth Self- Report and a Questionnaire constructed for the purpose of this research. Results. The results showed that adolescents with conduct disorder had significantly lower scores for Perspective Taking (t = 3.255, p = 0.001), Fantasy (t = 2.133, p = 0.034) and Empathic Concern (t = 2.479, p = 0.014) compared to the adolescents in the control group, while the values for Personal Distress (t = 1.818, p = 0.071) were higher compared to the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant. The study showed a statistically significant negative correlation between Perspective Taking and aggression (r = - 0.318, p = 0.003) and a negative correlation between Perspective Taking and the overall level of externalizing problems (r = -0.310, p = 0.004) in the group of adolescents with conduct disorder. Conclusion. This research contributes to better understanding of behavioral disorders in terms of individual factors, especially empathic reactivity. Preventive work with young people who have behavioral problems associated with empathy deficit disorder proved to be an important tool in preventing the development, or at least relieving the symptoms, of this ever more common disorder.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos A. Sandoval ◽  
Olaf N. Rank

Purpose Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior, the main purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of cognitive factors on the intention of a small and medium size enterprise (SME) manager to pursue the expansion of their firm’s export activities. Design/methodology/approach The authors created a research model and collected empirical data among owners and top managers of 127 Costa Rican SMEs. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques to reveal the relative significance and strength of the effects of every hypothesized relationship. Findings The results suggest that the perception of benefits and self-efficacy influence managers’ intentions to expand export activity. Managers’ intention to expand export activity, in turn, is associated with the levels of export commitment exhibited by the SMEs. None of the control variables seem to impact managers’ intentions. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study underline that the export development of a SME is to a large extent only possible if the manager’s perception of control over the export achievements is perceived to be high. SME managers need maximize their perceived level of controllability over firm’s export operations and achievements. This study relied on self-report data. Self-reports are the conventional method for assessing constructs regarding beliefs, and motivations of an individual. Its use in entrepreneurship research is proved to be reliable. However, the authors have to acknowledge that using self-report data carries the risk of common methods bias. Practical implications SMEs managers might benefit from strengthening the sense of self-efficacy regarding international business based on the results of this study. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence suggesting that a manager’s cognitive characteristics play a crucial role in understanding export expansion of a SME. The results encourage future research to incorporate cognitive theoretical frameworks to examine factors determining international entrepreneurial intentions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk De Clercq ◽  
Inam Ul Haq ◽  
Muhammad Umer Azeem

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how employees’ perceptions of psychological contract violation or sense of organizational betrayal, might diminish their job satisfaction, as well as how their access to two critical personal resources – emotion regulation skills and work-related self-efficacy – might buffer this negative relationship. Design/methodology/approach Two-wave survey data came from employees of Pakistani-based organizations. Findings Perceived contract violation reduces job satisfaction, but the effect is weaker at higher levels of emotion regulation skills and work-related self-efficacy. Practical implications For organizations, these results show that the frustrations that come with a sense of organizational betrayal can be contained more easily to the extent that their employees can draw from relevant personal resources. Originality/value This investigation provides a more complete understanding of when perceived contract violation will deplete employees’ emotional resources, in the form of feelings of happiness about their job situation. A sense of organizational betrayal is less likely to escalate into reduced job satisfaction when employees can control their negative emotions and feel confident about their work-related competencies.


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