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RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, EMPATHY, AND TEAMWORK TENDENCY IN SECOND –YEAR MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS
Abstract
Aim: Healthcare requires teamwork and it is important for team members to have strong communication skills, be empathetic, and emotional expressive. The aim of this study was to examine the emotional expression, empathy, and teamwork tendencies among second-year medical students at the beginning of their training and to investigate the relationship between these variables.
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among second-year medical students (N = 147; 87 females and 60 males) at a state university in Istanbul. Data collection took place between March 1 and May 31, 2023. The Emotional Expression Questionnaire (EEQ), the Basic Empathy Scale (BES), and the Teamwork Tendency Scale (TTS) were administered to the students via an online platform prior to the Teamwork Practice session, which is part of the Istanbul Medical Faculty curriculum, and data were collected accordingly. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) were used for continuous variables; frequencies and percentages for categorical variables. Group comparisons were performed using t-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests based on data distribution. Relationships between scale scores were analyzed using Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient.
Results: The mean scores were 71.31 (±9.83) for EEQ, 58.76 (±4.70) for BES, and 90.35 (±7.39) for TTS. Female students had significantly higher EEQ scores compared to males (p < 0.05), while males scored higher on TTS (p < 0.01). No gender difference was observed in empathy scores (p > 0.05). Positive correlations were found between EEQ and BES total scores and the TTS total score (p < 0.001).
Conclusions: The findings show that there is a significant relationship between emotional intelligence components such as empathy and emotional expression and teamwork tendencies. In medical education, communication, empathy, and teamwork are core competencies within the domains of interpersonal skills and professionalism. Emphasis should be placed on the development of these skills, and corresponding practices ought to be integrated into the medical curriculum from the early stages of education.
Keywords
Supporting Institution
The authors declare that this study had received no financial support
Ethical Statement
Ethics committee approval was received for this study from the ethics committee of İstanbul Faculty of Medicine (Date: March 11, 2022; Number: 2022-05).
Thanks
We appreciate all the students who completed the questionnaire for this study.
References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Medical Education
Journal Section
Research Article
Publication Date
April 29, 2026
Submission Date
June 27, 2025
Acceptance Date
January 2, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 25 Number: 75
APA
Alçalar, A. N., Eren, N., & Özel Yıldız, S. (2026). RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, EMPATHY, AND TEAMWORK TENDENCY IN SECOND –YEAR MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS. Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası, 25(75), 77-90. https://doi.org/10.25282/ted.1728740
AMA
1.Alçalar AN, Eren N, Özel Yıldız S. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, EMPATHY, AND TEAMWORK TENDENCY IN SECOND –YEAR MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS. Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası. 2026;25(75):77-90. doi:10.25282/ted.1728740
Chicago
Alçalar, Ayşe Nilüfer, Nurhan Eren, and Sevda Özel Yıldız. 2026. “RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, EMPATHY, AND TEAMWORK TENDENCY IN SECOND –YEAR MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS”. Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası 25 (75): 77-90. https://doi.org/10.25282/ted.1728740.
EndNote
Alçalar AN, Eren N, Özel Yıldız S (April 1, 2026) RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, EMPATHY, AND TEAMWORK TENDENCY IN SECOND –YEAR MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS. Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası 25 75 77–90.
IEEE
[1]A. N. Alçalar, N. Eren, and S. Özel Yıldız, “RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, EMPATHY, AND TEAMWORK TENDENCY IN SECOND –YEAR MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS”, Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası, vol. 25, no. 75, pp. 77–90, Apr. 2026, doi: 10.25282/ted.1728740.
ISNAD
Alçalar, Ayşe Nilüfer - Eren, Nurhan - Özel Yıldız, Sevda. “RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, EMPATHY, AND TEAMWORK TENDENCY IN SECOND –YEAR MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS”. Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası 25/75 (April 1, 2026): 77-90. https://doi.org/10.25282/ted.1728740.
JAMA
1.Alçalar AN, Eren N, Özel Yıldız S. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, EMPATHY, AND TEAMWORK TENDENCY IN SECOND –YEAR MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS. Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası. 2026;25:77–90.
MLA
Alçalar, Ayşe Nilüfer, et al. “RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, EMPATHY, AND TEAMWORK TENDENCY IN SECOND –YEAR MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS”. Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası, vol. 25, no. 75, Apr. 2026, pp. 77-90, doi:10.25282/ted.1728740.
Vancouver
1.Ayşe Nilüfer Alçalar, Nurhan Eren, Sevda Özel Yıldız. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, EMPATHY, AND TEAMWORK TENDENCY IN SECOND –YEAR MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS. Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası. 2026 Apr. 1;25(75):77-90. doi:10.25282/ted.1728740