Psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Measure of Empathy and Sympathy

Abstract Self-report measures of empathy have several limitations, including conceptual confusion with similar constructs (especially sympathy), ambiguous item wording and lack of brief forms. The Measure of Empathy and Sympathy (MES) has made important gains in addressing these problems. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the MES based on a sample of 608 Chinese university students. Results showed that the MES was structurally reliable, internally consistent, test-retest stable, and acceptable in terms of criterion-related validity. In conclusion, the MES is a promising instrument to assess empathy and sympathy in the Chinese population. However, we recommended using separate subscale scores or the sum of the cognitive and affective empathy subscales according to Omega indices and incremental validity, but not using the total MES score because of the concept difference between sympathy and empathy.