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The Structure of Bryant's Empathy Index for Children: A Cross-Validation Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2014

Amaia Lasa Aristu ,
Francisco Pablo Holgado Tello ,
Miguel Ángel Carrasco Ortiz  and
María Victoria del Barrio Gándara
Amaia Lasa Aristu*
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
Francisco Pablo Holgado Tello
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
Miguel Ángel Carrasco Ortiz
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
María Victoria del Barrio Gándara
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Amaia Lasa Aristu, Dpto. Personalidad Evaluación y Tratamientos Psicológicos, Facultad de Psicología. UNED, Ciudad Universitaria, C/ Juan del Rosal, 10, 28040 Madrid. Phone: +34 91 3988231. E-mail: alasa@psi.uned.es
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Abstract

The present study examined the structure of Bryant's Empathy Index (BEI) using different samples for conducting exploratory and confirmatory analyses. The BEI was administered to a sample of 2,714 children (mean age 11.12, SD = 1.59). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed a three-factor structure: Feelings of Sadness, Understanding Feelings and Tearful Reaction. The results revealed both the multidimensionality of the instrument and appropriate fit indices for the model proposed. Although these results were very similar to those reported in other studies with a Spanish population, the analyses were conducted in a more robust way: with a larger sample and using polychoric correlations and cross validation estimation.

El presente estudio examinó la estructura del Bryant's Empathy Index (BEI), empleando diferentes muestras para llevar a cabo análisis exploratorio y confirmatorio. El BEI se aplicó a una muestra de 2,714 niños (edad media 11,12; DT = 1,59). Análisis exploratorio y confirmatorio revelaron una estructura de tres factores: Sentimientos de Tristeza, Comprensión de Sentimientos y Reacción de Llanto. Los resultados revelaron la multidimensonalidad del instrumento e índices de bondad de ajuste adecuados para el modelo propuesto. Aunque estos resultados eran muy similares a los que aparecen en otros estudios con población española, los análisis se llevaron a cabo de una forma más robusta: con una muestra mayor y empleando correlaciones policóricas y estimación de la validación cruzada.

Keywords

empathy indexchildrenconstruct validitySpanish languageíndice de empatíaniñosvalidez de constructolengua española
Type
Articles
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , November 2008 , pp. 670 - 677
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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