Anxiety Mood.  2022 Oct;18(2):109-115. 10.24986/anxmod.2022.18.2.009.

The Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Empathy in Medical Students

• Kim HW

• KMID: 2534836
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.24986/anxmod.2022.18.2.009

Abstract

Objective
: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of subscales of emotional intelligence on empathy in first-year medical students.
Methods
: A total of 215 first-year medical students were eligible for this study. Demographic factors (age,sex, and medical school entrance type) and measures for emotional intelligence and empathy, such as the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, were included in the survey. The relationship between emotional intelligence and empathy was analyzed by multiple linear regression, adjusting for age, sex, and entrance type.
Results
: The female students’ level of emotional intelligence was higher than the male students for the self-emotional appraisal (p=0.029) and others’ emotional appraisal (p=0.006) subscales. Meanwhile, the graduate-entry students scored higher for the use of emotion (p<0.001) and regulation of emotion (p=0.010) subscales than the direct-entry students. For empathy, the female students revealed a higher score in empathic concern (p=0.009) than the male students, and graduate-entry students scored higher than the direct-entry students in perspective taking (p=0.004) and empathic concern (p<0.001). The multiple linear regression analysis has identified significant influences of subscales of emotional intelligence on empathy: others’ emotional appraisal on perspective taking (p<0.001), self-emotional appraisal (p=0.035) and regulation of emotion (p=0.023) on fantasy, others’ emotional appraisal (p<0.001) and use of emotion (p=0.020) on empathic concern, and self-emotional appraisal (p=0.033) and regulation of emotion (p<0.001) on personal distress.
Conclusion
: This study’s findings suggest that emotional intelligence may affect empathy in medical students, which can have implications for developing educational strategies to enhance empathetic attitudes in medical students.

Keyword

Emotional intelligence; Empathy; Medical students