Associations of emotional intelligence and gratitude with empathy in medical students
Open Access
- 17 April 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Nature in BMC Medical Education
- Vol. 20 (1), 1-8
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02041-4
Abstract
Background: Empathy is an essential quality for physicians and medical trainees. This study aimed to examine the associations of emotional intelligence (EI) and gratitude with empathy in medical students. Methods: We conducted this cross-sectional study at three medical schools in China. A pack of self-reported questionnaires, consisting of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF), the Gratitude Questionnaire-6 (GQ-6), and demographic section were distributed to the students. Results: A pool of 1392 students became the final participants. After adjustment for the demographics, trait EI and gratitude were positively related to Perspective Taking and Empathic Concern, accounting for 33.1 and 22.7% of their variance, respectively. While trait EI was strongly and negatively associated with Personal Distress, gratitude was modestly and positively associated with it, and they collectively explained 29.1% of its variance. Conclusions: Trait EI and gratitude could be vital psychological constructs for understanding empathy in medical students. The positive roles they may play could be considered when intervention strategies and programs are designed to enhance the professional competencies in medical students.Keywords
Funding Information
- Department of Education of Liaoning Province (2018:387, LQNR201705)
- China Medical University (3110118063, YDJK2018008)
This publication has 73 references indexed in Scilit:
- Expressing one’s feelings and listening to others increases emotional intelligence: a pilot study of Asian medical studentsBMC Medical Education, 2013
- Empathy as a Function of Clinical Exposure - Reading Emotion in the EyesPLOS ONE, 2013
- Empathy Decline and Its Reasons: A Systematic Review of Studies With Medical Students and ResidentsAcademic Medicine, 2011
- The Hidden Curriculum: What Can We Learn From Third-Year Medical Student Narrative Reflections?Academic Medicine, 2010
- Measurement of Empathy Among Japanese Medical Students: Psychometrics and Score Differences by Gender and Level of Medical EducationAcademic Medicine, 2009
- A preliminary study of empathy, emotional intelligence and examination performance in MBChB studentsMedical Education, 2007
- How Do Distress and Well-being Relate to Medical Student Empathy? A Multicenter StudyJournal of General Internal Medicine, 2007
- Association of Perceived Medical Errors With Resident Distress and EmpathyJAMA, 2006
- Clinical Empathy as Emotional Labor in the Patient-Physician RelationshipJAMA, 2005
- Trait emotional intelligence: psychometric investigation with reference to established trait taxonomiesEuropean Journal of Personality, 2001