Associations between Medical Student Empathy and Personality: A Multi-Institutional Study (original) (raw)
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Empathy of medical students and personality: Evidence from the Five-Factor Model
Medical Teacher, 2012
The main aim of this study was to test hypothetical associations between personality dimensions and empathy scores in medical students. The Portuguese version of NEO-FFI was administered in order to characterize participants in terms of five personality traits: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness. Self-reported empathy measures were obtained with the Portuguese version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE-spv), a Likert-type questionnaire specifically developed for administration in health sciences settings that measures domains, such as compassionate care and perspective taking. Correlation analysis, multivariate analysis of covariance, and logistic regression analysis were conducted. The results confirmed positive associations between agreeableness, openness to experience and empathy, and did not support our hypothesis of negative associations between neuroticism and empathy. It is suggested that that the personality of students should be taken into account in programs to enhance empathy in undergraduate medical education.
Empathy and Personality Styles in Medical Students
Revista Colombiana de Psicología
This study aimed to establish the relationship between empathy and personality styles in medical students, considering the differences by gender. The participants were 278 students of the medical career of the Universidad del Azuay, Ecuador. They were evaluated using the Jefferson empathy scale and the Millon Index of Personality Styles. Relationships between empathy and personality styles were examined using Pearson's correlation coefficient and hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, for comparisons by gender and educational levels; with both Student's t test and analysis of variance used respectively. Results indicated that the factor structure of the empathy scale is invariant between men and women, noticing gender differences in care with compassion and total empathy, with women presenting a higher mean. Differences are observed by educational level, where the general empathy in the first three years grows progressively, and then slightly decrease. In conclusi...
BMC Medical Education
Background Empathy plays the key role in the doctor – patient relationship. The research of empathy determinants plays an important role in formulating practical guidelines for the education of medical students. The aim of this study was to analyse personality characteristics of empathy profiles among students of medicine, with consideration of chief personality factors and their subdimensions according to the FFM model. Methods During workshops in Clinical Psychological Skills, 153 students (M = 57, F = 96; mean age 23 years) analysed their psychological functioning styles by examining their personality profiles and empathy indicators. Empathic Sensitiveness Scale (ESS) and Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) were applied for this purpose. The analyses of empathy indicators were presented by means of cluster analysis. Variance analysis with post hoc Tukey-b test was performed for differences between clusters and to differentiate between personality factors and their components in empa...
The relationship between empathy and personality traits in Saudi medical students
Journal of education and health promotion, 2022
BACKGROUND:Empathy is regarded as a fundamental personal attribute for in-training and in-practice doctors. Several factors may play a significant role to facilitate or prevent the ability of doctors' empathy toward their patients. The objective of the present study is to investigate the relationship of empathy with personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience) among undergraduate medical students.MATERIALS AND METHODS:This study was based on a correlational, cross-sectional design and was conducted from January 2020 to April 2020. The sample consisted of 301 undergraduate medical students studying in different medical colleges situated in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Personal information form, the big-five personality inventory, and the interpersonal reactivity index scales were administered. Obtained data were analyzed by applying several methods such as mean, standard deviation, Mann–Whitney U test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multivariable linear regression.RESULTS:Regression analysis revealed that personality dimensions accounted for 10–19% of the variance in scores of empathy sub-dimensions of perspective-taking, empathetic concern, fantasy, and personal distress. Agreeableness was found to be associated with empathetic concern and perspective-taking. Openness to experience was found to be significantly related to perspective-taking and fantasy, whereas extraversion was negatively associated with perspective-taking. Neuroticism had an association with personal distress, empathetic concern, and fantasy. Additionally, no gender difference was observed and students with people-oriented specialty preferences showed significantly higher scores on empathy sub-domains than technology-oriented students.CONCLUSION:This study confirmed that personality dimensions play a notable role to predict empathetic behaviors among Saudi undergraduate medical students. This study would help to design individualized strategies by incorporating personality dimensions in the training program to enhance empathetic behavior among medical students.
Advances in Health Sciences Education, 2020
Empathy remains a widely discussed topic within medical education research. Studies on empathy changes among medical students are not univocal: empathy may decline, remain stable or increase. A largely unexplored research question regards inter-individual variability in empathy change, namely if different longitudinal trajectories of empathy exist. Evidence on the association of empathy trajectories with personality and motives for studying medicine is also scarce. Here, latent growth modeling examined empathy (measured with the Jefferson Scale of Empathy) among 201 medical students (Mage=20.74, 57% females) across three assessments: at entry year (Year 1) and during the first two clinical years (Years 4 and 5). Associations between empathy trajectories, personality in Year 1 and motives for studying medicine in Years 4 and 5 were tested. We identified two empathy trajectory groups: lower and decreasing (n=59; 29%) and higher and stable (n=142; 71%). Regression analyses indicated that higher openness in Year 1 was associated with an increased probability of higher and stable group membership (controlling for motives in Year 1). The effect of openness disappeared controlling for motives in Years 4 and 5 while caring for patients (in Years 4 and 5) and altruism (in Year 4) were positively associated with an increased probability of higher and stable group membership. In sum, we observed that empathy remains stable in most medical students and declines in fewer; openness and patients-oriented motives for studying medicine are associated with higher and stable empathy. Encouraging medical students' patients-oriented motives from preclinical throughout clinical years may prevent empathy decline.
PLOS ONE
The issues of personality and its relations with the level of empathetic sensibility of medical doctors are broadly discussed in the literature. The aim of this study was an assessment of personality related predictors of empathy indicators in female and male students of medicine with consideration of gender differences. Methods applied were Empathic Sensitiveness Scale (ESS) and Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). The study included 153 participants, who were students of the fifth year of medical studies. Students filled in questionnaires during workshops in clinical psychological skills. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous. The statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 13 PL and PS IMAGO PRO (SPSS). Linear regression analysis with the interaction component was performed to explore the relationship between personality factors and gender and their interaction with the variable dependent level of empathy. The analysis showed that Extraversion, Openness and ...
Does medical students’ personality have an impact on their intention to show empathic behavior?
Archives of Women's Mental Health, 2018
Several studies have demonstrated a correlation between specific personal traits and empathy. However, it is not clear if persons with certain personality traits lack the intent to show empathic behavior or if other factors independent of their intent are affecting their empathic behavior. To answer this question, we asked 132 medical students to fill out questionnaires evaluating the General Intention to Show Empathic Behavior (GISEB) and the five personality traits measured by NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Additionally, we evaluated the influence of other factors, such as age, gender, curricular progress (second versus fourth year), and preferred specialization after graduation. We performed a Pearson's correlation and a regression analysis. Results indicate that the five personality traits and gender have little influence on the General Intention (GISEB), only extraversion (r = .221, 95% CI [.013-.394], p = .027), and agreeableness (r = .229, 95% CI [.021-.428], p = .022) correlated with the intention. The only predictor for General Intention (GISEB) was curricular progress (β = − .27, p < .05), showing a decrease of General Intention to Show Empathic Behavior from second to fourth year of university (U = 1203.5, p = .002). A further finding indicates that gender and personality influence the students' wish of specialization after graduation: Agreeableness (F(12, 53) = 2.376, p = .016) impacted the preferred specialization. Our study demonstrated that medical students' personality might not notably impact the intention to show empathic behavior. Further research is needed to investigate moderating effects.
Empathy in senior year and first year medical students: a cross-sectional study
BMC Medical Education, 2011
Background: The importance of fostering the development of empathy in undergraduate students is continuously emphasized in international recommendations for medical education. Paradoxically, some studies in the North-American context using self-reported measures have found that empathy declines during undergraduate medical training. Empathy is also known to be gender dependent-(highest for female medical students) and related to specialty preference -(higher in patient-oriented than technology-oriented specialties). This factor has not been studied in Portuguese medical schools. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of undergraduate medical students on self-rated measures of empathy collected at entrance and at the conclusion of the medical degree, and on the association of empathy measures with gender and specialty preferences in one medical school in Portugal. Empathy was assessed using the Portuguese adaptation of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-students version (JSPE-spv) among three cohorts of undergraduate medical students in the first (N = 356) and last (N = 120) year. The construct validity of JSPE-spv was cross-validated with Principal Component Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach' Alpha. Global JSPE-spv score differences were examined by year of medical school, gender and specialty preferences (people-oriented vs technology-oriented specialties).
Educación Médica, 2018
The authors aimed to compare two different empathy scales across the six-year medical course, among undergraduate medical students attending a school of medicine that was established nine years ago in the Brazilian city of São Paulo. Method: Cross-sectional study. The authors evaluated a sample of 296 students. The empathy evaluation was performed using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE), version for medical students, and Davis's multidimensional Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI-Brazilian version), applying both to each student simultaneously. The students were divided into three groups, according to their year on the medical course: Basic Group (1st and 2nd years), Clinical Group (3rd and 4th years) and Clerkship Group (5th and 6th years). Socio-demographic data and empathy scores, for both scales, were compared between these three groups using the Chi-square test and the Kruskal-Wallis test, as applicable. Results: the JSPE scores were similar among the students from the Basic, Clinical and Clerkship groups (p = 0.53). On the other hand, the affective dimension of IRI-Brazilian version revealed a significantly lower score in the Clerkship Group (p < 0.01). Conclusions: The authors suggest that the level of empathy can change, and in this case, the affective dimension was most affected during medical school.
Slovenian Journal of Public Health, 2015
Introduction. Self-reported scales, such as the Jefferson Scale of Empathy - Student version (JSE-S), had been recognised to measure the empathic disposition rather than behavioural expression. This study aimed to re-validate the JSE-S and its factor structure prior further research on empathy in medical students. Methods. A convenience sampling method was employed in two consecutive academic years, in 2012/13 and 2013/14, at the Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana, Slovenia; first and final year students participated voluntarily. The JSE-S examined empathy levels. The principal component analysis was performed with Oblimin rotation and Kaisers’ criteria. Factors with eigenvalues ≥ 1.25 were retained and items loading ≥ |0.40| were required for the interpretation of the factor structure. Results. The total study sample size was 845 students, (580 (68.6%)) of them women; 327 (72.2%) were in the first (19.2 ± 1.9 years old) and 253 (61.7%) in the sixth (24.9 ± 1.1 years old) year of medi...