Analyzing the Factor Structure of the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire: Dimensionality, Reliability, Validity, Measurement Invariance and One-Year Stability of the German Version

Abstract

In the face of heterogeneity in the measurement of empathy, the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ; Spreng et al., Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(1), 62–71 (2009)) was developed as a brief unidimensional tool by statistically forming a consensus from existing measures of the construct. The present study aimed to (1) validate a German version of the TEQ, and (2) contribute empirical evidence to the ongoing debate regarding a singular versus multidimensional factor structure of the TEQ. One cross-sectional and two longitudinal studies were performed, with a total of 1,075 participants. Our initial exploratory factor analyses suggested either a one- or a two-factor structure (with the two-factors clustering straight and reverse-scored items); the two-factor model outperformed the one-factor model using confirmatory factor analyses. However, after negated items were replaced by positively reworded alternatives, both models fit the data equally well. A comparison of the correlation patterns with numerous external measures indicated that a second factor of the TEQ is a methodological artifact of item wording. Finally, a unidimensional TEQ scale showed sufficient internal consistency, two-week test-retest reliability, one-year stability, as well as convergent and discriminant validity with measures of empathy, emotion recognition, emotion regulation, altruism, social desirability, and the Big Five personality traits.

Acknowledgments

We thank Victoria Schönefeld for contributing to the translation. The BMBF was not involved in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, and in the writing of this report.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study can be retrieved from the OSF (https://osf.io/qz7y3/).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Grant 02L14A150 from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).