Validation of the Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Arabic Version of the Empathy Scale among Secondary School Students in Jeddah, Academic Year 2023/2024

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the factor structure of the Arabic version of the Empathy Scale as revealed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA), to assess the internal consistency validity, and to determine the reliability indicators of the Arabic version. The study also aims to identify the overall level of empathy among students and to investigate statistically significant differences in empathy that may be attributed to gender.
A descriptive research method was employed to achieve the study objectives. The study adopted a translated version of the Empathy Scale developed by Davis (1983). The sample consisted of 507 male and female secondary school students selected randomly from the study population.
The results, after verifying construct validity using exploratory factor analysis, revealed that the extracted factors explained more than 50% of the total variance, with a total explained variance of 51.38%, indicating acceptable construct validity.
The findings also showed that the corrected item-total correlation coefficients for the scale's dimensions ranged from moderate to high, which are considered acceptable values, indicating good internal consistency.
The findings also showed that the corrected item-total correlation coefficients for the scale's dimensions ranged from moderate to high, which are considered acceptable values, indicating good internal consistency.
The reliability coefficients for the scale's sub-dimensions ranged from 0.711 to 0.785, while the total reliability coefficient of the entire scale was 0.820, reflecting acceptable reliability.
Additionally, the results indicated that the students in the sample demonstrated a moderate level of empathy. Statistically significant differences were found in empathy levels based on gender, in favor of female students.