De convergente validiteit van de vragenlijst Empathie in Relaties (EiR)

Abstract

In existing self-report questionnaires to measure empathy, there is little attention for interpersonal and contextual aspects. Therefore, a new state empathy questionnaire is developed: the Empathie in Relaties (EiR). The current research focuses on the convergent validity of the EiR in comparison to a recognized trait empathy questionnaire, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). A sample, consisting of 148 adolescents between 12 to 23 years of preparatory secondary vocational education (VMBO) or intermediate vocational education (mbo), was analysed to determine whether the EiR-variables empathy, personal distress, sympathy and prosocial behaviour in relation to pain and sadness are significant predictors of the IRI-variables (Empathic Concern (EC) and Personal Distress (PD)) and whether gender moderates the proposed relationships. Results indicate that EiR-variables empathy, sympathy and prosocial behaviour were reliable variables and significant predictors of EC. The EiR-variable personal distress was a significant predictor of PD, but the reliability of the variable was low and most participants scored low on the personal distress-items. Therefore, it is recommended to formulate the personal distress items differently in the EiR. Gender significantly moderated the relationships of five of the eight variables. In all significant moderations, the correlation between the EiR-predictors and IRI-outcome variables were stronger for girls than for boys.