Measuring individual differences in trait sympathy: instrument construction and validation.
In 3 studies, I report on the construction and validation of a multifaceted, self-report measure of an individual's tendency to experience feelings of sorrow or concern for the suffering of others. The Trait Sympathy Scales (TSS) displayed solid properties of reliability (Studies 1-3), content validity (Study 1), factorial validity (Study 1), construct-related validity (Studies 1-3), convergent and discriminant validity (Study 2), as well as predictive validity (Study 3). Findings support the TSS as a sound instrument that offers several advantages over Davis's (1980) Empathic Concern subscale.
Department of Psychology, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA 23606-2998, USA. sherman.lee@cnu.edu
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000533:Altruism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult