ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Empathy is a prosocial ability and communication skill to feel, understand, and respond to emotions of others; it includes affective and cognitive behavioral aspects of therapeutic communication. For instance, physicians should communicate empathically with their patients. Thus, empathy levels of medical students should be improved during their education. It is important to comparatively evaluate the dimensions of empathy to have a clearer picture of this ability. The aim of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of the Empathy Assessment Scale (EAS) and its subscales. METHODS: Data were collected between October and December in 2021 from 651 students studying medicine in Istanbul Medeniyet University. Item pool of the scale was developed by the researcher based on the literature review. Two counseling psychologists, two clinical psychologist, and two psychiatrists evaluated the items to detect the face and content validity in the final application form. Both explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) were carried out. The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire was also applied for concurrent validity. IBM SPSS 25 and AMOS 24 were utilized to analyze the construct and concurrent validities, internal consistency, and test-retest reliabilities. RESULTS: KMO and Bartlett's sphericity tests showed that the dataset was suitable for factor analyses (KMO=0.812, Chi-square=5535.718, df=78). A three-factor structure with 13 items was confirmed by EFA, 67.1% of the variance was explained by these three factors. According to CFA, the factor loads of the items varied between 0.39 and 0.98 and data model fit was suitable according to the fit indices (CFI=0.95, TLI=0.91, RMSEA=0.049, SRMR=0.055, and Chi-square/df=1.316). Concurrent validity of the scale was also confirmed by the Pearson correlation (r=0.467, p<0.001). The test-retest reliability values (r) within four weeks interval were all above 0.60 at 0.01 significance level. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.845 (EAS total scale score, 13 items), 0.696 (social interaction subscale score, 4 items), 0.802 (cognitive behavior subscale score, 5 items), and 0.964 (emotional identification subscale score, 4 items). CONCLUSION: EAS is a valid and reliable measurement tool to assess the empathy levels of individuals in three dimensions: Social interaction, cognitive behavior, and emotional identification. EAS can be used to evaluate the empathy levels for research, educational, and other interventional purposes.
ABSTRACT
Objective: Anxiety is inseparable from life due to its survival value. Up-to-date and multidimensional assessment of anxiety is necessary to develop effective interventions to cope with high anxiety levels. This study was conducted to examine the psychometrics of the Anxiety Assessment Scale (AAS). Methods: Data were collected between January and April 2021 from 756 students (42.9% males and 57.1% females) studying medicine at Istanbul Medeniyet University. Seven experts evaluated the items to detect content validity in the final application form. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) were used for construct validity. The Beck Anxiety Inventory was also applied for concurrent validity. Test-retest reliabilities were calculated within four weeks. IBM SPSS 25 and AMOS 24 were used for statistical analyses. Results: Data were suitable for factor analyses (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin=0.800, chi-square=3018.854, df=45). The EFA showed the three-factor structure with 10 items, and 70.1% of the variance was explained. Factor loads of the items varied between 0.61 and 0.87; data-model fit was suitable (CFI=0.92, TLI=0.93, RMSEA=0.059, SRMR=0.046, chi-square/df=1.556) according to CFA. Concurrent scale validity was also confirmed by the Pearson correlation (r=0.167, p<0.01). The test-retest reliabilities (r) were all >0.5 (p<0.001). The Cronbach a coefficients were 0.845 (AAS), 0.770 (Physiological Tension=PT), 0.822 (Worrying=W), and 0.838 (Feeling Unsafe=FU). Conclusions: AAS is a reliable and valid measurement instrument to assess anxiety levels in three dimensions. AAS can be applied for research, psychological assessment, and other appropriate application purposes.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Lifelong Learning is a voluntary and self-motivated form of learning that lasts from birth to death for personal and professional reasons. As medical science has a dynamic nature, the knowledge gained in the faculty of medicine mostly will not be enough in the later professional life. The aim of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of the JeffSPLL-MS© in Turkish. METHOD: Linguistic equivalence analysis was applied first, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was utilized in order to test the construct validity. Concurrent validity was tested by simultaneous administration of Lifelong Learning Trends Scale (LLTS) and JeffSPLL-MS©. Finally, internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the scores gathered from the scales in the study were calculated. RESULTS: Linguistic equivalence study supplied that there is a strong relationship (r=.873, p=.001) between Turkish and English forms of the scale. For CFA, Kaiser Meyer Olkin (KMO) value was .863 and the results of Bartlett Sphericity Test were appropriate (X2 = 1173,6; p=.001, df=91); model-data fit indices for JeffSPLL-MS© with 14 items in three factors were also satisfactory ((X2/df =1,51); RMSEA=0,046; NFI=0,918; RFI=0,902; CFI=0,971) and factor loadings of items were ranging between.522 and.764. The Pearson correlation coefficient as the indicator of concurrent validity of the scales LLTS and JeffSPLL-MS© was calculated as .624 (p=.001). The internal consistency (Cronbach alpha) of the total scores gathered from JeffSPLL-MS© is .843 and stratified alpha coefficient is .892. Cronbach alpha values for the subscales are as follows: .830 (F1=Learning beliefs and motivation), .719 (F2=Skills in seeking information), .721 (F3=Attention to learning opportunities). The test-retest reliability values for the scale, and its subscales were ranged between.709 and.812 within a four-week period. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that JeffSPLL-MS© can be used as a valid and reliable measurement instrument for medical education studies in Turkey.
