Psychometric properties of the Spanish validation of the children's empathic attitudes questionnaire (CEAQ)

Abstract

The prevalence of antisocial behavior in school settings is still discouraging. Students that often engage in aggressive acts may lack in the ability to appreciate the emotional consequences of their behaviors and share others’ emotions. The Children’s Empathic Attitudes Questionnaire (CEAQ) is one of the questionnaires used to assess empathy in children and early adolescents. This study is aimed to validate the Spanish version of CEAQ. The sample comprised 297 children (50% males), aged from 7 to 12 years (M = 9.53, SD = 1.2), from Madrid. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated an excellent fit for a unidimensional model, χ2(89) = 110.702, p = .059; CFI = .972; RMSEA = .029, 95% CI [.000, .045]. Multigroup invariance analysis showed no significant gender-related differences in all levels. Results also referred an acceptable reliability (ω = .824, r = .610). These results provide psychometric support for the use of the Spanish version of CEAQ as a valid and reliable instrument to assess empathy in children and youth population, especially for school-based intervention