Interpersonal Reactivity Index Profile and Evolution in Medical Students: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Medical education constitutes an unparalleled opportunity to maximize students' empathy profiles. Aims: To profile and address the evolution of IRI's empathy features in first- and second-year undergraduates, analyzing possible correlations to their personal characteristics. Methods: First- (MP Group) and second-year (CP and MP+CP Groups) medical students completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) questionnaire, evaluating each individual concerning four subscales: Perspective taking (PT), Empathic concern (EC), Personal distress (PD) and Fantasy (F). Results: In the MP Group, both EC and F subscales had a significant higher score in females (p<0,001). In the CP Group, PT, EC and F also scored higher in females (p=0,007, p<0,001 and p=0,001, respectively). There are no significant differences between the results of different study groups. Admission grade and age didn't correlate with IRI's subscales. Better physiology grades conferred higher EC and F only in MP+CP Group. Type of high-school education didn't influence students' empathy features. Working-student status only conferred a higher EC in the MP+CP Group. PT and EC skills correlate positively, together with EC and F. In contrast, PT and PD are negatively correlated. Conclusions: Students' personal characteristics influence their empathy features. A decline in empathy levels does not occur in the first two years of medical education.