Fatigue, Pro-Social Attitude and Quality of Life as Predictors of Empathy in Medical and Social-Oriented Students

Abstract

Empathy is significant in professions that require establishing proper contact as a condition for providing help. Identifying factors related to empathy is important for understanding how to teach empathic behavior. The main goal of this study was to find variables related to empathy in a group of students from two universities: medical and social oriented (N = 1701). The study group consisted of female (81%) and male (19%) participants, aged between 18–20 (37%), 21–23 (49%), or 24 years and above (14%). A self-designed questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographical information, with additional questions (social self-esteem, prosocial attitude, subjective quality of life). Empathy was measured with the EQ-40, fatigue with CHFQ-PL, and stress with PSS-10. The results showed a statistically significant regression model for empathy. A high quality of life and having feelings of pleasure when helping other people allows to predict a high level of empathy, especially among females. Higher levels of fatigue and social self-esteem, the latter of which is measured here by the belief that you are more important than others, predicts lower empathy. There were no differences between students from two different kinds of universities when taking into consideration stress levels, subjective quality of life, and prosocial attitude. However, students from the medical university were more exhausted and more convinced that their value was greater than others, as compared to the students studying social sciences. When teaching empathic behavior, it is beneficial to attempt to maintain or restore students’ well-being and reduce fatigue and to teach how to achieve such effects in the future. Learning the balance between compassion, willingness to help, and self-compassion also seems to be important.

Differences between Health and Non-Health Science Students in Lifestyle Habits, Perceived Stress and Psychological Well-Being: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…One study aimed to determine the differences between medical and social science students in perceived stress levels, subjective quality of life and prosocial attitude. Major differences were not observed, but medical students were found to be more fatigued and had a greater sense of self-worth compared to social science students [ 81 ].…”

Predictors of Empathic Concern: The Roles of Compassion Fatigue and Positive Affect

“…Positive Affect, encompassing emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, and alertness, plays a significant role in counterbalancing the negative effects of Compassion Fatigue (Silver et al, 2018). High levels of Positive Affect have been associated with increased resilience, improved coping strategies, and enhanced overall well-being (Zdun-Ryżewska et al, 2022). Moreover, Positive Affect can foster a more empathetic and compassionate professional demeanor, thereby enhancing the quality of care provided to clients and patients (Chapman, 2021).…”