%0 Journal Article %A Hojat, M. %A LaNoue, M. %T Exploration and confirmation of the latent variable structure of the Jefferson scale of empathy %J Int J Med Educ %D 2014 %P 73-81 %V 5 %P 73-81 %R 10.5116/ijme.533f.0c41 %U http://www.ijme.net/archive/5/latent-variable-structure-of-jse/ %G eng %7 April 20, 2014 %K jefferson scale of empathy %K exploratory factor analysis (efa) %K confirmatory factor analysis (cfa) %K latent variable structure %X Objectives: To reaffirm the underlying components of the JSE by using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and to confirm its latent variable structure by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Methods: Research participants included 2,612 medical students who entered Jefferson Medical College between 2002 and 2012. This sample was divided into two groups: Matriculants between 2002 and 2007 (n=1,380) and be-tween 2008 and 2012 (n=1,232). Data for 2002-2007 ma-triculants were subjected to EFA (principal component factor extraction), and data for matriculants of 2008-2012 were used for CFA (structural equation modeling, and root mean square error for approximation). Results: The EFA resulted in three factors: "perspective-taking," "compassionate care" and "walking in patient's shoes" replicating the 3-factor model reported in most of the previous studies. The CFA showed that the 3-factor model was an acceptable fit, thus confirming the latent variable structure emerged in the EFA. Corrected item-total score correlations for the total sample were all positive and statistically significant, ranging from 0.13 to 0.61 with a median of 0.44 (p<0.01). The item discrimination effect size indices (contrasting item mean scores for the top-third versus bottom-third JSE scorers) ranged from 0.50 to 1.4 indicating that the differences in item mean scores between top and bottom scorers on the JSE were of practical im-portance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the JSE for the total sample was 0.80, ranging from 0.75 to 0.84 for ma-triculatnts of different years. Conclusions: Findings provided further support for under-lying constructs of the JSE, adding to its credibility.