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Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents

Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents is a 22-item tool designed to measure levels of empathy among younger people to use as a comparison to tools that measure the same construct among adults. Some of the items were adapted from an empathy scale by Mehrabian and Epstein (1972).

Categories

Geographies Tested: United States of America

Populations Included: Female, Male

Age Range: Adolescents, Children

Items:

1. It makes me sad to see a girl who can't find anyone to play with.
2. People who kiss and hug in public are silly.*
3. Boys who cry because they are happy are silly.*
4. I really like to watch people open presents, even when I don't get a present myself.
5. Seeing a boy who is crying makes me feel like crying.*
6. I get upset when I see a girl being hurt.*
7. Even when I don't know why someone is laughing, I laugh too.
8. Sometimes I cry when I watch TV.
9. Girls who cry because they are happy are silly.*
10. It's hard for me to see why someone else gets upset.
11. I get upset when I see an animal being hurt.
12. It makes me sad to see a boy who can't find anyone to play with.*
13. Some songs make me so sad I feel like crying.
14. I get upset when I see a boy being hurt.*
15. Grown-ups sometimes cry even when they have nothing to be sad about.
16. It's silly to treat dogs and cats as though they have feelings like people.
17. I get mad when I see a classmate pretending to need help from a teacher all the time.
18. Kids who have no friends probably don't want any.
19. Seeing a girl who is crying makes me feel like crying.*
20. I think it is funny that some people cry during a sad movie or while reading a sad book.
21. I am able to eat all my cookies even when I see someone looking at me wanting one.
22. I don't feel upset when I see a classmate being punished by a teacher for not obeying school rules.

*Items are reverse scored

Response Options:
Yes - 1
No - 0

Scoring Procedures

A sum of all items is computed for the total measure score, with a possible range from 0 to 22, with higher scores reflecting greater empathy.

Original Citation

Bryant, B. K. (1982). An index of empathy for children and adolescents. Child Development, 53(2), 413-425. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1128984


Psychometric Score

Ease of Use Score

Scoring breakdown

Formative Research

Qualitative Research

Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework

Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

Reliability

Internal

Test-retest

Interrater

Validity

Content

Face

Criterion (gold-standard)

Construct

KEY

Ease of Use

Readability

Scoring Clarity

Length

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