Department of Medical Education, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea.
Department of Medical Education, Dongguk University School of Medicine, 32 Dongguk-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, 10326, South Korea.
BMC Med Educ. 2021 Feb 19;21(1):119. doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02561-7.
This study aimed to validate the Korean version of the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) and to determine its suitability for the measurement of empathy in medical students.
The study sample was Year 1 and 2 medical students at two medical schools on six-year undergraduate medical programs in South Korea. The study participants completed the Korean TEQ, which has a single factor structure and consists of 16 items; responses are scored using a 5-point Likert scale, giving a maximum possible score of 64. Psychometric validation of the questionnaire was performed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and the goodness of fit test. Average variance extracted was calculated to establish convergent validity, and associations between factors and construct reliability were analyzed to establish discriminant validity. Cronbach's alpha values were utilized for reliability analysis.
A total of 279 students completed and returned the questionnaire (a 96.2% response rate). Participant empathy scores ranged from 20 to 60 (M = 44.6, SD = 7.36). Empathy scores were higher for females than males (p < .05). The cumulative variance of the Korean TEQ was 32%, indicating that its explanatory power was rather weak. Consequently, goodness-of-fit testing was performed on four hypothetical models, among which a three-factorial structure consisting of 14 items demonstrated satisfactory fit indices and explained 55% of the variance. Reliability estimates of the three subscales were also satisfactory (Cronbach's α = .71-.81). This three-factorial model was validated by confirmatory factor analysis and demonstrated adequate convergent and discriminant validity.
This study demonstrated psychometric validation of the Korean TEQ for measuring medical students' empathy. We suggest a modified 14-item model with a three-factorial structure, which demonstrated better psychometric properties than the original scale.
本研究旨在验证多伦多同理心问卷（TEQ）的韩文版本，并确定其在测量医学生同理心方面的适用性。
研究样本为韩国两所六年制本科医学项目的一年级和二年级医学生。研究参与者完成了韩国 TEQ，该问卷具有单一因素结构，由 16 个项目组成；使用 5 点 Likert 量表评分，最高可得 64 分。通过探索性和验证性因子分析以及拟合优度检验对问卷进行心理测量学验证。平均方差提取用于建立收敛效度，分析因素之间和结构可靠性之间的关联以建立判别效度。采用 Cronbach's alpha 值进行可靠性分析。
共有 279 名学生完成并返回问卷（应答率为 96.2%）。参与者的同理心得分范围为 20 至 60（M=44.6，SD=7.36）。女性的同理心得分高于男性（p<0.05）。韩国 TEQ 的累积方差为 32%，表明其解释力较弱。因此，对四个假设模型进行了拟合优度检验，其中由 14 个项目组成的三因素结构表现出令人满意的拟合指数，解释了 55%的方差。三个子量表的可靠性估计也令人满意（Cronbach's α=0.71-0.81）。通过验证性因子分析验证了三因素模型，证明具有足够的收敛和判别效度。
本研究表明，韩国 TEQ 具有测量医学生同理心的心理测量学验证。我们建议使用具有三因素结构的改良 14 项模型，其心理测量学特性优于原始量表。
