Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jul 3;16(13):2360.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph16132360.

Association between Level of Empathy, Attitude towards Physical Education and Victimization in Adolescents: A Multi-Group Structural Equation Analysis

Víctor Arufe-Giráldez  1 , Félix Zurita-Ortega  2 , Rosario Padial-Ruz  2 , Manuel Castro-Sánchez  3
Affiliations

Association between Level of Empathy, Attitude towards Physical Education and Victimization in Adolescents: A Multi-Group Structural Equation Analysis

Víctor Arufe-Giráldez et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Currently, there is a problem related to violence and tolerance towards violence, and the levels of empathy of the subjects can affect this, in addition to the practice of physical activity. The present study sought to define and contrast an explanatory model of victimization, empathy and attitude towards physical education, and to analyze the existing relationships between these variables as a function of engagement with physical activity. A total of 2388 adolescents from Spain participated in this research. The sample was made up of both sexes (43.39% males and 56.61% females), with ages reported between 11 and 17 years (M = 13.85; SD = 1.26). Empathy (TECA), attitude towards physical education (CAEF) and victimization (EV) were measured. A multi-group structural equation model was developed, which showed excellent fit to the empirical data (χ2 = 559.577; DF = 38; p < 0.001; comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.957; normalized fit index (NFI) = 0.954; incremental fit index (IFI) = 0.957; root mean squared error of the mean (RMSEA) = 0.054). A direct positive relationship exists between affective and cognitive empathy. A positive association was found between motivational climate and engagement in physical activity. With regards to victimization, the verbal dimension obtained the highest correlation score, followed by the relational and physical dimensions. In the case of adolescents who regularly engaged in physical activity, the verbal and physical dimensions presented the weakest correlations, whilst the relational dimension was the most strongly associated in the case of sedentary adolescents. The main conclusions of the present study it is that the relationship between affective empathy and cognitive empathy is positive and direct, however, this relationship is slightly stronger and differentiated in sedentary adolescents than in those who practice physical activity on a regular basis.

Keywords: adolescent; empathy; physical activity; physical education; victimization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Theoretical model.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Structural equation model for individuals who regularly engaged in physical activity.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Structural equation model for sedentary participants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Graham S. Peer victimization in school. Exploring the ethnic context. Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci. 2006;15:317–321. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00460.x. - DOI
    1. Hong J., Espelage D.A. Review of research on bullying and peer victimization in school: An ecological system analysis. Aggress. Violent Behav. 2012;17:311–322. doi: 10.1016/j.avb.2012.03.003. - DOI
    1. Patchin J.W., Hinduja S. Deterring teen bullying: Assessing the impact of perceived punishment from police, schools, and parents. Youth Violence Juv. J. 2018;16:190–207. doi: 10.1177/1541204016681057. - DOI
    1. Forsberg C., Wood L., Smith J., Varjas K., Meyers J., Jungert T., Thornberg R. Students’ views of factors affecting their bystander behaviors in response to school bullying: A cross-collaborative conceptual qualitative analysis. Res. Pap. Educ. 2018;33:127–142. doi: 10.1080/02671522.2016.1271001. - DOI
    1. Park A., Jensen-Campbell L.A., Miller H.L. The effects of peer relational victimization on social cognition: Rejection attribution bias or a more generalized sensitivity to social pain? J. Soc. Pers. Relat. 2017;34:984–1006. doi: 10.1177/0265407516664418. - DOI