Proposal of a measure of empathy focused in groups: Factorial validity and internal consistency

Abstract

This article aims to gather evidence of factorial validity and internal consistency of an Empathy Scale focused on Groups (ESG). To this end, two studies had been carried through: the first one refers to an exploratory study and the second one to a confirmatory validation. Two samples were used, containing about 200 adolescents each. Participants responded to the ESG and to a demographic questionnaire. The results of the analysis of the main components identified four factors representing the internal structure of the instrument, with a total alpha of 0.83. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed acceptable psychometric indicators for the model with four factors compared to other models. Overall, this study offers significant contributions to the understanding of the dimensionality of the empathy construct.