engleski

Development and empirical evaluation of a new empathy questionnaire for early adolescents

The paper presents the construction and initial validation data on a new instrument intended to measure empathy in early adolescents. Research on adults mostly supports the hypothesis of a cognitive and an affective component of empathy, but the structure of empathy in children is less clear. In designing this instrument, empathy was conceptualized as rather stable disposition composed of the suggested cognitive and affective dimensions. The questionnaire was administered on two samples of elementary school students (n1 = 202 ; n2 = 133). Average age in both samples was 12 years, with boys and girls equally represented. The analyses, including EFA, CFA, and validity evidence based on relationships with demographic data and some personality traits, suggest a general empathy factor and a reverse coding method factor. The results are interpreted in light of existing theories and previous empirical findings published on empathy measures, with a special emphasis on methodological issues encountered.

empathy ; dimensionality ; early adolescents ; CFA

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