Artículo
Psychometry and Cut-off Points of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy in Medical Students in Central America and the Caribbean
Fecha
2022Registro en:
PRHSJ Vol. 41 No. 1 March, 2022
0738-0658
2373-6011
Autor
Díaz-Narváez, Víctor Patricio
Calzadilla-Núñez, Aracelis
Reyes-Reyes, Alejandro
Silva-Vetri, María G.
Torres-Martínez, Pilar
González-Díaz, Eugenia Smirna
Alonso-Palacio, Luz Marina
Bilbao-Ramírez, Jorge Luis
Estrada-Méndez, Nuvia
Aparicio, Dilia Esther
Fajardo-Ramos, Elizabeth
Ferrero-Otero, Juan Carlos
Barrera-Gil, Douglas
Ríos-García, Ana Liliana
Institución
Resumen
Objective: The objective of this study was to determine cut-off points that can
be used to differentiate measures of empathy, which would then be classified
as high, medium, or low. To do so, we used data from students from 7 medical
schools in Colombia, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic, after determining the
psychometric properties of the 3-dimensional model of empathy in the Jefferson
Scale of Empathy, S-version (for medical students).
Material and Methods: This non-experimental descriptive study had a sample that
consisted of 6291 students. The structure and factor invariance were analyzed by
country and sex. A hierarchical cluster analysis and a bifactorial analysis of variance
were applied.
Results: The measure of empathy was reliable on the global scale (α = .82; ω =
.88). A confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original model was replicable
and adjusted to the data (comparative fit index [CFI] = .90; goodness of fit index =
.94), while the multigroup analysis allowed to assume an invariant factor structure
by country and gender (ΔCFI < .01). Tables were constructed with cut-off points for
empathy and its dimensions.
Discussion and Conclusion: Our study solves the problem of comparing the scores
and the levels of empathy observed in the medical students at different schools of
medicine, making said comparisons within and between countries and between
genders. The instrument used has adequate psychometric properties and the cut-off
values obtained allow the classifying of people with lower or higher levels of empathy.