Studies on the dimensionality of empathy: translation and adaptation of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)

Abstract

Over years several methods have been proposed to assess empathy, being the self-evaluate scales the most employed method. Among these scales, we highlight Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), by Davis (1983) which assess cognitive and affective components of empathy. The main aims of this work were to translate and adapt IRI to using in Brazil, checking its psychometrics properties, and to assess the construct dimensionality of empathy using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Results showed that: 1) the translated and adapted IRI version was valid to Brazilian context, 2) The Fantasy dimension is central to explain empathy and 3) A four-factor model explains better empathy than the one and two-factor models. This last finding lends support to the Davis’ and Hoffman’s thesis that a multidimensional view could explain better the construct of empathy.