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Description:
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Previous research has demonstrated correlation amongst empathy , mindfulness , self -compassion and self -rumination . The constructs of empathy and mindfulness , however , remain indeterminate ; self -compassion is a relatively new construct ; and self -rumination has only recently been shown to correlate negatively with each construct . Evaluation of construct validity is required to draw conclusions about group differences and justify particular interpretations of test scores through explanations of the behaviors the test scores summarize . The primary research objective in this study will be to examine the underlying factor structure of measures of empathy , mindfulness , self -compassion and self -rumination . The purpose of this study is to examine whether the constructs are discrete , overlapping , redundant , or indistinguishable .
Three hundred forty -three participants were recruited from a large , ethnically diverse , Southwestern university (57 males and 286 females ) . The average age of the participants was 25 years of age (M = 24 .94 years , SD = 9 .193 ) with the youngest participant being 18 years old and the oldest participant being 62 years old . Participants’ self -identified race was as follows : 38 .2 % White /Caucasian , 23 .9 % Asian /Pacific Islander , 16 .9 % African -American , 14 .6 % Hispanic , 3 .2 % biracial , 2 .6 % Middle Eastern , and .6 % American -Indian . Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and one psychological measure that was constructed using all items from five existing measures : Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI ; Davis , 1983 ) , the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS ; Baer , Smith , Allen , 2004 ) , the Rumination subscale of the Rumination -Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ ; Trapnell and Campbell , 1999 ) , the Self -Compassion Scale (SCS ; Neff , 2003a ) , and the Marlowe -Crowne Social Desirability Scale (M -C ) Short Form -C .
A series of principal -axis factor analyses with promax rotation (k=4 ) resulted in a comparison between 4 - , 7 - , and 12 -factor solutions . 4 -factor solution aligned with 34 .1 % of the overall variance . 7 -factor solution aligned with 41 .1 % of the overall variance . 12 -factor solution aligned with 48 .2 % of the overall variance . Overall , the 12 -factor model was found to be the most interpretable , but not the most parsimonious . Across all factor solutions , the 12 -factor model produced more consistency and strength across item -factor loadings , yielded the highest percentage of hyperplane counts (4 -factor = 35 .4 % ; 7 -factor = 56 .6 % ; 12 -factor = 67 .8 % ) , provided good congruence with conceptually -derived organization of the measures under investigation , and accounted for the largest amount of variance . However , the 4 -factor model was more parsimonious , indicated potential overlap /redundancy between constructs under investigation , and revealed that a higher -order factor may account for the several of the later factors within the 12 -factor solution . These results confirm the need for future and ongoing study of these constructs and will hopefully lead to a more comprehensive understanding of empathy and mindfulness , two of the constructs that are core to the effectiveness of therapeutic work . |