Reliability and Validity of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy in Undergraduate Nursing Students

Evidence has been reported in support of the reliability and validity of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) when used with physicians, medical students, and nurses. This study examined the psychometrics of a modified version of the scale in undergraduate nursing students. The modified v...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of nursing measurement 2009-01, Vol.17 (1), p.73-88
Main Authors: Ward, Julia, Schaal, Mary, Sullivan, Jacqueline, Bowen, Mary E., Erdmann, James B., Hojat, Mohammadreza
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administration, Management, and Leadership
Adult
Doctor-Nurse collaboration
Doctors
Empathy
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female
Humans
Male
Nurse-Patient Relations
Nursing
Nursing Education
Professional Issues and Trends
Psychometrics
Reliability
Reproducibility of Results
Students, Nursing - psychology
Undergraduate students
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Summary:Evidence has been reported in support of the reliability and validity of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) when used with physicians, medical students, and nurses. This study examined the psychometrics of a modified version of the scale in undergraduate nursing students. The modified version of the JSPE was administered to 333 nursing students at different levels of training. Three underlying constructs, that is, "Perspective Taking," "Compassionate Care," and "Standing in Patient's Shoes" emerged from the factor analysis of the scale that were consistent with the conceptual framework of empathy, thus supporting the construct validity of the scale. The coefficient alpha was .77. Scores of the empathy scale were significantly correlated with the scores of the Jefferson Scale of Attitudes toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration (r = .38,p < .001). Women scored higher than men, and those with more clinical experiences scored higher than others. It was concluded that the empathy scale used in this study is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring empathy in undergraduate nursing students.
ISSN:1061-3749
1945-7049
DOI:10.1891/1061-3749.17.1.73