No coração da escola médica : um estudo preliminar da empatia na formação médica

Abstract

The general objective of this very present dissertation is to assess the agreeableness of medical students through validation of the Big Five Inventory - 10 (IBGFP-5) in Brazil. The IBGFP-5 is a brief self-report inventory, composed by 11 items and designed to assess dimensions of personality based upon Big Five Personality Factor model, which are: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness (in this study, as a synonym of empathy) and Neuroticism. Such model has been replicated in several countries in the world, including Brazil. The specific objectives of this study are: (1) validating IBGFP-5 through test and retest analysis (time reliability); (2) to do crossed correlation of the IBGFP-5 as a shorter version of the IGFP-5; (3) to do convergent validaty with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index of Davis (EMRI), which assess only empathy; (4) to assess the internal consistence of the five dimensions of the IBGPF-5 in the total sample of respondents and subsets represented by the five cohorts of students, from the first to the sixth year; (5) evaluate evidences of agreeableness based upon differences of IBGFP-5 factors scores, in social and demographic variables and concerning another personality traits; and (6) discuss possible factors that may influence the development of empathy along medical school at FAMED/PUCRS. The total sample, after eliminating missing data, was composed by 200 respondents, medical students at PUCRS, most of them are female (60,5%), with mean age of 22 years old. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the IBGFP-5 comes down to a 0,256 Cronbach’s alpha. According to time reliability, convergent validity and concurrent validity, data averaged in a general fashion low reliable psychological parameters. Concerning empathy features, in post hoc tests it were noticed differences between gender and spirituality level and empathy scores (p<0,05). Results in this study tend to construct validity of the Portuguese version of the IBGFP-5, even though it has restrictions and adjustment needs. Thus, results suggest the need of further investigation of empathy among students, since empathy is a multifactorial trait, and also communication skill training in medical school. Considering the fact that the IBGFP-5 is a brief inventory with a short application time it can easily be used in transcultural studies. The limitations of this study are featured, as well as a future research calendar.