Validation of the Empathy Quotient in Mainland China

ABSTRACT

This research aimed to validate a simplified Chinese version of the Empathy Quotient (EQ; 60 items) for use with Mainland Chinese people. The original English version of the EQ was translated into simplified Chinese. Through an online survey, 588 Mainland Chinese participants completed the EQ and 3 other questionnaires: the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS–20). Thirty-five participants completed retesting of the EQ 3 to 4 weeks later. Sex differences on the EQ scores and psychometric properties of the EQ items were examined. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that an EQ 15-item structural model fitted the data quite well. Self-report empathy, as assessed by the current simplified Chinese version of the EQ, appeared to relate to participants' autistic and alexithymic traits but not sex.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all the participants who took part in this study, and thank Professor Raymond C. K. Chan for granting permission to use the Simplified Chinese version of the IRI and his feedback on this article. We thank Professor John O'Gorman for his feedback on this article, and Professors Graeme J. Taylor and Shuqiao Yao for their help in adapting the TAS–20 and providing permission to use the updated version of the TAS–20. We thank Dr. Kate Li and Ms. Yunhua Xiao for their help with the back-translation of the EQ and the TAS–20. Finally, we thank Dr. Amanda Biggs for providing us with technical support in conducting the confirmatory factor analyses.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a Griffith University Postgraduate Research Scholarship and a Griffith University International Postgraduate Research Scholarship to Qing Zhao.