The Italian version of the Empathy Questionnaire for 18- to 36-months-old children: psychometric properties and measurement invariance across gender of the EmQue-I13. Issue 1 (2nd January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Grazzani, Ilaria; Ornaghi, Veronica; Pepe, Alessandro; Brazzelli, Elisa; Rieffe, Carolien
• Is Part Of: European journal of developmental psychology. Volume 14:Issue 1(2017)
• Page Start: 118
• Page End: 126
• Publication Date: 2017-01-02
• Subjects: Empathy questionnaire -- validation -- invariance across gender -- toddlerhood -- prosociality; Developmental psychology -- Periodicals; Developmental psychology -- Europe -- Periodicals; 155
• DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2016.1140640
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1740-5629

Abstract

Abstract: Empathy is the basic ability to respond affectively to the emotions of others and is observed early in human development. This study ( N = 304) tested the Italian version of the Empathy Questionnaire (EmQue), which is a parent scale assessing empathy-related behaviors in toddlers. For this study, it was completed by participants' mothers only. The EmQue measurement model and its factorial invariance across children's gender were tested via confirmatory factor analysis. Highly satisfactory goodness-of-fit indexes were found for a three factor-structure (contagion, attention to the feelings of others and prosocial actions) with 13 loading items. Furthermore, the data supported invariance of measurement across gender groups. These results suggest that the EmQue-I13 is a reliable instrument for investigating empathy and prosocial behavior in 18- to 36-month-old children in the Italian context.