ALPHA PSYCHIATRY
Original Articles

Adaptation of the Adolescent Measure of Empathy and Sympathy (AMES) to Turkish: a validity and reliability study

Alpha Psychiatry 2018; 19: 184-191
DOI: 10.5455/apd.262004
Read: 904 Downloads: 501 Published: 01 April 2018

Objective: Empathy plays an important role in the development of social behaviors of adolescents. For children and adolescents to continue their normal development, it is important to determine their empathic and sympathetic tendency levels and to perform appropriate interventions. In order to measure the level of empathy and sympathy, current Turkish measurement tools were not found in the literature. The aim of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Adolescent Measure of Empathy and Sympathy Scale (AMES). Methods: The study was conducted with 212 students studying in high school within the boundaries of Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality. In the first phase, language equivalence, exploratory factor analysis, the internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were employed. The next phase, confirmatory factor analysis and concurrent validity were employed. Results: Along with the explanatory factor analysis, it was observed that 12 items were divided into 3 factors as a result of the content validity and that the loads of all factors were above 0.50. According to the confirmatory factor analysis, fit index values of the model were χ²/df=2.012, CFI=0.902, GFI=0.927, RMSEA=0.070 and SRMR=0.059. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients ranged between 0.63 and 0.75 for three subscales. Discussion: This study shows that the AMES is a reliable and valid measurement tool of empathy and sympathy for Turkish adolescents. It provides a significant advantage compared to existing measurement tools by distinguishing affective empathy, cognitive empathy and sympathy. It can also make an important contribution to future studies on the role of empathy and sympathy in adolescent behavior. [Anadolu Psikiyatri Derg 2018; 19(2.000): 184-191]

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