Development of the Empathy in Romantic Relationships Scale: Validity and Reliability Study

Abstract

The present study aimed to develop the Empathy in Romantic Relationships Scale and to examine its psychometric properties to assess empathy skills within romantic relationships. To develop the scale, an extensive literature review was first conducted, resulting in a preliminary pool. Expert opinions were then obtained, and the items were revised accordingly. Data were collected from 504 individuals (293 females, 58.1%; 211 males, 41.9%) who were married (60.1%), engaged (10.1%), or in a dating relationship (29.8%) to conduct an exploratory factor analysis. The results revealed a two-dimensional structure consisting of nine items. These dimensions were identified as Emotional Empathy and Cognitive Empathy. In the second phase, data were gathered from 222 individuals (158 females, 71.2%; 64 males, 28.8%) who were married (34.7%), engaged (18%), or in a dating relationship (47.3%) to perform a confirmatory factor analysis based on the previously obtained structure. Reliability was examined through Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficients and test–retest analyses. In the item analyses, correlations among the items were assessed, and the mean scores of the lower 27% and upper 27% groups were compared using independent samples t-tests. Criterion-related validity was evaluated by calculating Pearson’s product–moment correlation coefficients between the new scale and the Toronto Empathy Scale as well as the Tolerance Tendency Scale. The findings indicated that the Empathy in Romantic Relationships Scale is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring empathy in romantic relationships.

Keywords

• Empathy
• romantic relationship
• emotional empathy
• cognitive empathy
• scale development

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