Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Empathy for Pain Scale in medical students

Objective To translate the Empathy for Pain Scale (EPS) and evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of EPS in medical students. Methods The items of the Chinese version of EPS were determined by translation, back-translation, semantic analysis, expert consultation and culture adaptation. From June to October 2018, this study selected 531 undergraduate students by convenience sampling to carry out questionnaire survey. Correlation analysis and critical ratio were used to the item analysis. Validity test was implemented with the content validity, construct validity and criterion-related validity; and internal consistency was tested with the Cronbach's α value and split-half reliability. Results The Chinese version of EPS had 12 items and two factors named as the body and mind discomfort reactions and empathy reactions with 69.059% for the total variance contribution. Content validity of items ranged from 0.83 to 1.00, and the total content validity was 0.94. The total score of the Chinese version of EPS had a positive correlation with the score of the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI-C) (r=0.370, P< 0.01) . The Cronbach's α value of the scale was 0.914; Cronbach's α values of two dimensions, the body and mind discomfort reactions and empathy reactions, were 0.935 and 0.775 respectively. The split-half reliability of the scale was 0.896. Conclusions The Chinese version of EPS has four scenes and two dimensions as well as a good reliability and validity which could be used to evaluate the level of empathy for pain among medical students in China. Key words: Pain; The Empathy for Pain Scale; Translate the score into Chinese; Reliability; Validity