Document Type

Thesis - NSU Access Only

Title

Measuring Empathy Among Physical Therapists and Students

Authors

Jeannie Wells, Nova Southeastern University

Degree Name

Master of Physical Therapy (MPT)

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

Department

College of Health Care Sciences - Physical Therapy Department

Publication Date / Copyright Date

1998

Publisher

Nova Southeastern University

NSUWorks Citation

Jeannie Wells. 1998. Measuring Empathy Among Physical Therapists and Students. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, College of Health Care Sciences - Physical Therapy Department. (146)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_pt_stuetd/146.

Abstract

Purpose: Determine the difference between the empathic abilities of first and second year physical therapy graduate students and licensed, practicing physical therapists with a minimum of one year of clinical experience.

Subjects: A total of 100 first year students, 88 second year students from Nova Southeastern University and 350 licensed, practicing physical therapists in Duval, Pinellas, and Dade counties in Florida.

Methods: Respondents completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) to measure their empathic abilities. Crosstabulations and Chi-Square tests were used to determine if the three groups of subjects differed based upon their demographic data. One-way ANOVA tests and two-tailed t-tests with the alpha level at .05 were used to determine if differences between those of first and second year students.

Findings: Females scored statistically higher than males on the IRI (t(303) = -5.526; p

Conclusion: A significant relationship existed between subjects' demographics and empathic abilities, and a significant difference was found between the empathic skills levels of students and therapists on the perspective-taking subscale.

Disciplines

Physical Therapy