Evaluation of Empathy and Ethical Perception Among First-Year Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study
ABSTRACT
Objective:
In the early stages of medical education, establishing ethical values and an empathetic approach is essential for medical practice. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between empathy levels and ethical perceptions among first-year medical students at a medical faculty in Türkiye and to determine the significance of this relationship while controlling for demographic variables.
Materials and Methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire including sociodemographic questions and two standardized measurement tools: the Toronto Empathy Scale (Cronbach’s alpha=0.73) and the Approaches to Ethical Issues in Healthcare Scale (Cronbach’s alpha=0.80). Data were analyzed using Jamovi version 2.6.44 with multiple linear regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, and Pearson correlation analyses. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.
Results:
A total of 104 students participated in the study. After data cleaning, 92 participants were included in the final analysis. Among them, 51 (55.4%) were female and 39 (42.4%) were male. A significant positive relationship was found between empathy levels and ethical perception (r=0.444, p<0.001). This relationship remained significant after controlling for demographic variables such as age, gender, number of siblings, place of birth, and housing status. Gender and family educational background had a significant effect on empathy levels, whereas no significant differences were found between empathy or ethical perception and the number of siblings, place of birth, or housing status (p>0.05).
Conclusion:
Our findings reveal a substantial, positive association between empathy and the ability to perceive moral issues. We suggest that strengthening empathy education in the early stages of medical training may support the development of ethical values.
Keywords:
Empathy
ethics
medical students
regression analysis
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