Exploring Self-Rated Empathy Among Language Interpreters Before and After a Simulated Task Interpreting for Police

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Trauma Studies
• Interpreter Education

Background:

• Police interview interpreting involves emotionally charged content, potentially impacting interpreter empathy and increasing vicarious trauma risk.
• Limited empirical research exists on empathy changes in interpreter trainees during simulated police interviews.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of simulated police interview interpreting on interpreter trainees' empathy levels.
• To identify specific emotionally charged content influencing empathy changes.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods study with 25 postgraduate interpreter trainees.
• Participants completed the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) pre- and post-simulation.
• Semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants analyzed thematically.

Main Results:

• Overall empathy scores significantly increased post-simulation (p < 0.001), driven by affective empathy.
• Cognitive empathy remained unchanged.
• Mechanisms included emotional contagion, ethical conflicts, and personal identification.

Conclusions:

• Simulated police interview interpreting enhances affective empathy in trainees, potentially increasing emotional strain.
• Interpreter training should incorporate emotional regulation strategies and support systems.
• Further research needed on professional interpreters and long-term effects in legal settings.