School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano - Bicocca, 20900 Monza, MB, Italy.
Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano - Bicocca, 20126 Milano, MI, Italy.
Patient Educ Couns. 2020 May;103(5):965-970. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2019.11.004. Epub 2019 Nov 7.
To assess medical students' attachment profile and to explore its relationship with empathy dimensions.
Three cohorts of medical students were consecutively enrolled in the study at the beginning of their second year, before their clinical internship experience, and assessed using the Attachment Style Questionnaire (a self-report measure of attachment styles) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (a self-report measure of empathy). t-test, partial correlations, and multiple linear regression models were used to analyze relationships between attachment styles and gender, age, and empathy dimensions.
A total of 361 out of 450 (80.2%) Italian second-year medical students participated in the study. Female students considered interpersonal relationships more important and showed a higher need for approval than did their male counterparts. Among the attachment styles, considering relationships as secondary to achievement was the most important significant predictor of both emotional and cognitive empathy variables.
This study shows that the attachment styles of medical students are related to self-evaluated empathy, over and above the effects of gender and age differences.
The Attachment Style Questionnaire may be a useful tool for medical educators to identify medical students with low empathy scores during their pre-clinical years of study.
评估医学生的依恋模式，并探讨其与同理心维度的关系。
在临床实习前的第二年开始，连续招募了三个队列的医学生参与研究，使用依恋风格问卷（一种依恋风格的自我报告测量工具）和人际反应性指数（一种同理心的自我报告测量工具）进行评估。采用 t 检验、偏相关和多元线性回归模型分析依恋风格与性别、年龄和同理心维度之间的关系。
共有 450 名意大利二年级医学生中的 361 名（80.2%）参加了研究。与男性相比，女性学生更重视人际关系，更需要得到认可。在依恋风格中，将人际关系视为次于成就的重要性是情感和认知同理心变量的最重要显著预测因素。
这项研究表明，医学生的依恋模式与自我评估的同理心有关，超过了性别和年龄差异的影响。
在临床前学习阶段，依恋风格问卷可能是医学教育工作者识别同理心得分较低的医学生的有用工具。
