PLoS ONE (Jan 2023)

The validation of a Mandarin version of the Empathy Components Questionnaire (ECQ-Chinese) in Chinese samples.

  • Yabo Ge,
  • Chris Ashwin,
  • Fengying Li,
  • Wei Cao,
  • Yu Zhang,
  • Xuan Zhao,
  • Binghai Sun,
  • Weijian Li

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275903
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18, no. 1
p. e0275903

Abstract

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Empathy involves both empathic ability and empathic motivation. An important topic has been how to measure empathic ability and motivation simultaneously in both clinical and non-clinical samples and across different cultures. The Empathy Components Questionnaire (ECQ) is a self-report questionnaire that measures empathic ability and motivation in a questionnaire. The current study aimed to validate the Mandarin Chinese version of the ECQ (ECQ-Chinese) in three Chinese samples. In study 1, a total of 538 Chinese participants (Sample 1) completed the ECQ-Chinese via an online survey, and existing measures of empathy and related constructs which were used for criterion validity. In study 2, a total of 104 participants (Sample 2) were recruited again from sample 1 and completed the ECQ-Chinese three weeks later to investigate test-retest reliability. In study 3, a further 324 participants (Sample 3) completed the ECQ-Chinese for confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that the ECQ-Chinese has a good internal consistency reliability, split-half reliability, and criterion validity (Study 1), and a good test-retest reliability (Study 2). Further, Study 3 found that a 22-item ECQ-Chinese consisting of five subscales had a good construct validity, convergence validity and discriminate validity, demonstrating it to be a suitable tool for the measurement of empathic ability and motivation in Chinese samples and to carry out cross-cultural studies of empathy and its components.