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Assessing empathy in antisocial youth: factor analytic and validation findings
Ahmed Whitt1, Matthew O Howard
1School of Social Work, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 325 Pittsboro Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27515, USA. ahmedw@email.unc.edu
Psychological Reports
|May 10, 2013
Summary
Researchers developed a brief empathy scale for antisocial youth. This new measure shows promise for clinical assessments of empathy in adolescents with behavioral issues.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Criminology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Empathy in antisocial youth is understudied, despite variations in offending behaviors.
- Understanding empathy is crucial for addressing adolescent delinquency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a brief empathy scale for antisocial adolescents.
- To assess the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the new empathy measure.
- To identify correlates of empathy in delinquent youth.
Main Methods:
- Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used.
- A new empathy subscale was derived from the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Short Version.
- The study included 707 adolescents from youth rehabilitation facilities.
Main Results:
- The derived empathy measure demonstrated adequate psychometric properties.
- The scale showed potential for clinical utility in assessing empathy.
- Key sociodemographic, psychosocial, and behavioral correlates were identified.
Conclusions:
- The new brief empathy scale is a potentially valuable tool for clinicians.
- This measure can aid in the assessment of empathy in antisocial adolescents.
- Further research can explore the application of this scale in clinical settings.
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