The measurement of empathy in male pre-adolescents and adolescents. Adaptation and validation of a scale

Reliability and validity of a Scale to Measure Emphaty were studied in a sample of 318 preadolescents and adolescents from Colombia, 11 to 18 years old. The scale is based on the Emphaty Questionnarie (Martorell, Gonzalez and Calvo, 1998). Reliability was found using the Cronbach standarized alpha, and the correlation item-total. Validity (criterial) was found by using the discriminative analysis, taken as criterium having being diagnosed with disocial conduct disorder. The mean score of 94 of the preadolescents and adolescents which had received the diagnosis of disocial conduct disorder, were compared with the mean score of the rest of the sample. Crombach standarized alpha found was 0,7828; all the items showed correlations with the total score to a 0,001 level or higher. Discriminative analysis showed a Lambda of Wilks of 0,978, that corresponds to the significance level of 0,008. Statistical results indicate that the Scale to Measure Emphaty presents the appropiate reliability and validity levels.