Year :
2021
| Month :
October
| Volume :
15
| Issue :
10
| Page :
LC24 - LC27
Full Version
A Cross-sectional Study on Empathy
and Factors Associated with Individual
Variations in Empathy Levels among
College Students in Central Kerala
Published: October 1, 2021 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2021/50742.15560
Shaliet Rose Sebastian, Joyal Alias Saji, Geethu Mathew, Bichu P Babu
1. Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Believers Church Medical College Hospital, Thiruvalla, Kerala, India.
2. Student, Believers Church Medical College Hospital, Thiruvalla, Kerala, India.
3. Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, KS Hegde Medical College, NITTE (Deemed to be University), Mangaluru, Karnataka, India.
4. Medical Social Worker, Department of Community Medicine, Believers Church Medical College Hospital, Thiruvalla, Kerala, India.
Correspondence Address :
Dr. Shaliet Rose Sebastian,
Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Believers Church Medical College Hospital, Thiruvalla, Kerala, India.
E-mail: drshalietrs@gmail.com
Abstract
Introduction: Empathy is a social skill that exerts influence on the quality of social relationships. An empathetic person is able to understand the emotions of others, accurately express their feelings, comprehend other’s situations and act appropriately. Added to the volatile nature of the age, the youth face challenges from social exclusion, gender based violence and the lack of access to rights and opportunities.
Aim: To measure empathy levels among college students aged 18-28 years in Kerala and to find out the factors associated with individual variations in Empathy levels among them.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 610 college students of both gender randomly selected from Pathamthitta, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Kollam, and Trivandrum districts in South Central Kerala, India. Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), short version of Malach-Pines (2005) and Burnout Measure was used for collecting information from study participants. Data was analysed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 (Chicago, USA). Results were expressed as percentages and proportions.
Results: The mean age of the study participants was 21±1.6 years. The mean empathy score and burnout score of study participants were 58±11.9 and 41.03±12.3, respectively. The empathy score among study participants was found to be significantly associated with age of study participants and burnout.
Conclusion: The present study revealed a good prevalence of empathy and humanistic values among college students in Kerala. However, certain factors like burnout that can affect total individual empathy scores need to be addressed.
Keywords
Burnout, Interpersonal reactivity index, Young adults
10.7860/JCDR/2021/50742.15560
Date of Submission: Jun 08, 2021
Date of Peer Review: Jul 26, 2021
Date of Acceptance: Sep 03, 2021
Date of Publishing: Oct 01, 2021
AUTHOR DECLARATION:
• Financial or Other Competing Interests: None
• Was Ethics Committee Approval obtained for this study? Yes
• Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? Yes
• For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. NA
PLAGIARISM CHECKING METHODS:
• Plagiarism X-checker: Jun 10, 2021
• Manual Googling: Aug 26, 2021
• iThenticate Software: Sep 13, 2021 (16%)
ETYMOLOGY: Author Origin
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