Kerbage Georges, Akkari Camille, Hachem Nagham, El Murr Michelle, El Mir Rita, Abou Atme Cyril, Haddad Georges, Abou Khalil Rony, El Hayek Elissar, Harb Frederic, Hallit Souheil, Fekih-Romdhane Feten
School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh P.O. Box 446, Lebanon.
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh P.O. Box 446, Lebanon.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Aug 16;13(16):2022. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13162022.
: Although people with schizophrenia appear to experience emotions like healthy individuals, previous studies suggest that their ability to engage in empathic emotional responses might be impaired. As per our knowledge, no studies in the Arab world have investigated empathy in patients with schizophrenia, which is likely due to the lack of valid and reliable measures to assess the empathy construct among Arabic-speaking people. The aim of this research is to validate the Arabic version of the Pictorial Empathy Test (PET) in patients with schizophrenia from Lebanon. : A two-month cross-sectional study was carried out at the Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross during January and February of 2024. The average age of the 113 participants in this study was 57.52 ± 10.35 years and 63.5% of them were men. Data were collected through in-person interviews. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using SPSS AMOS version 29. Parameter estimation utilized the maximum likelihood approach. In order to examine sex invariance in PET scores, a multi-group CFA was conducted. Measurement invariance was assessed across configural, metric, and scalar levels. Evidence of invariance was determined based on the criteria: ΔCFI ≤ 0.010, ΔRMSEA ≤ 0.015, or ΔSRMR ≤ 0.010. : CFA revealed that the Arabic PET exhibited a unidimensional factor structure. The PET demonstrated solid internal consistency (ω = 0.93, α = 0.93). Measurement invariance testing confirmed that the scale performed equally well across sexes. A linear regression analysis found that female sex and higher levels of alexithymia were significantly correlated with lower levels of affective empathy. : The findings indicate that the Arabic version of the PET is a reliable and valid tool for measuring affective empathy in Arabic-speaking patients with schizophrenia. The culturally adapted and validated Arabic PET would help detect affective empathy deficits, design and implement context-tailored interventions, and encourage future research in this area in the Arab region. Future research should aim to validate the PET against behavioral tasks like the Empathic Accuracy Task to improve its ecological validity.
虽然精神分裂症患者似乎能像健康个体一样体验情感，但先前的研究表明，他们进行共情情感反应的能力可能受损。据我们所知，阿拉伯世界尚无研究调查精神分裂症患者的共情能力，这可能是由于缺乏有效且可靠的测量方法来评估阿拉伯语使用者的共情结构。本研究的目的是验证黎巴嫩精神分裂症患者的阿拉伯语版《图片共情测验》（PET）。
2024年1月至2月期间，在十字精神病院开展了一项为期两个月的横断面研究。本研究中113名参与者的平均年龄为57.52±10.35岁，其中63.5%为男性。数据通过面对面访谈收集。使用SPSS AMOS 29版进行验证性因素分析（CFA）。参数估计采用最大似然法。为了检验PET分数的性别不变性，进行了多组CFA。在构型、度量和标量水平上评估测量不变性。根据以下标准确定不变性证据：ΔCFI≤0.010，ΔRMSEA≤0.015，或ΔSRMR≤0.010。
CFA显示，阿拉伯语PET呈现单维因素结构。PET表现出良好的内部一致性（ω=0.93，α=0.93）。测量不变性测试证实该量表在不同性别中表现同样良好。线性回归分析发现，女性性别和较高的述情障碍水平与较低的情感共情水平显著相关。
研究结果表明，阿拉伯语版PET是测量阿拉伯语精神分裂症患者情感共情的可靠且有效工具。经过文化适应和验证的阿拉伯语PET将有助于检测情感共情缺陷，设计和实施针对具体情况的干预措施，并鼓励阿拉伯地区在该领域开展未来研究。未来研究应旨在对照如共情准确性任务等行为任务验证PET，以提高其生态效度。
