The Relationship between Mental Health with the Level of Empathy Among Medical Students in Southern Thailand: A University-Based CrossSectional Study

Abstract

Objective: To determine the level of and factors associated with empathy among medical students. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed all first- to sixth-year medical students at the Faculty of Medicines, Prince of Songkla University, at the end of the 2020 academic year. The questionnaires consisted of: 1) The personal and demographic information questionnaire, 2) The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire, and 3) Thai Mental Health Indicator-15. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and factors associated with empathy level were assessed via chi-square and logistic regression analyses. Results: There were 1010 participants with response rate of 94%. Most of them were female (59%). More than half (54.9%) reported a high level of empathy. There was a statistically significant difference in empathy levels between pre-clinical and clinical medical students; in regards to empathy subgroups (P-value < 0.001). The assessment of emotional states in others by demonstrating appropriate sensitivity behavior, altruism, and empathic responding scores among the pre-clinical group were higher than those of the clinical group. Multivariate analysis indicated that female gender, pre-clinical training level, and minor specialty preference were factors associated with empathy level. The protective factor that significantly improved the level of empathy was having fair to good mental health. Conclusion: More than half of the surveyed medical students reported a high level of empathy. The protective factor that improved the level of empathy was good mental health. However, future qualitative methods, longitudinal surveillance, or long-term follow-up designs are required to ensure the trustworthiness of these findings.