Empathy is a prosocial ability and communication skill to feel, understand, and respond to emotions of others; it includes affective and cognitive behavioral aspects of therapeutic communication. For instance, physicians should communicate empathically with their patients. Thus, empathy levels of medical students should be improved during their education. It is important to comparatively evaluate the dimensions of empathy to have a clearer picture of this ability. The aim of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of the Empathy Assessment Scale (EAS) and its subscales. Data were collected between October and December in 2021 from 651 students studying medicine in Istanbul Medeniyet University. Item pool of the scale was developed by the researcher based on the literature review. Two counseling psychologists, two clinical psychologist, and two psychiatrists evaluated the items to detect the face and content validity in the final application form. Both explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) were carried out. The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire was also applied for concurrent validity. IBM SPSS 25 and AMOS 24 were utilized to analyze the construct and concurrent validities, internal consistency, and test-retest reliabilities. KMO and Bartlett’s sphericity tests showed that the dataset was suitable for factor analyses (KMO=0.812, Chi-square=5535.718, df=78). A three-factor structure with 13 items was confirmed by EFA, 67.1% of the variance was explained by these three factors. According to CFA, the factor loads of the items varied between 0.39 and 0.98 and data model fit was suitable according to the fit indices (CFI=0.95, TLI=0.91, RMSEA=0.049, SRMR=0.055, and Chi-square/df=1.316). Concurrent validity of the scale was also confirmed by the Pearson correlation (r=0.467, p<0.001). The test-retest reliability values (r) within four weeks interval were all above 0.60 at 0.01 significance level. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were 0.845 (EAS total scale score, 13 items), 0.696 (social interaction subscale score, 4 items), 0.802 (cognitive behavior subscale score, 5 items), and 0.964 (emotional identification subscale score, 4 items). EAS is a valid and reliable measurement tool to assess the empathy levels of individuals in three dimensions: Social interaction, cognitive behavior, and emotional identification. EAS can be used to evaluate the empathy levels for research, educational, and other interventional purposes.

Introduction: In recent times, emotional loneliness has been increasing among young people, despite their intense social interaction via virtual platforms and in real life. Their social-emotional development seems to be interrupted due to high levels of psychological stress, and it probably results in significant academic problems. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between loneliness, perceived stress, and academic burnout among medical students after the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Datasets were collected from 630 medical students (51.7% women, with the mean age of 21.31 and the standard deviation of 2.14) by using scales for emotional and social loneliness, psychological stress, and academic burnout in January 2023. After verifying normality, a t-test and ANOVA were used to compare groups. Pearson's correlation coefficient and path analyses were also utilized for data analysis.Results: In terms of loneliness, there were significant differences between genders in preclinical and clinical term groups, and stress levels were also significantly different between the two term groups. Men were found to be more emotionally lonely than women. No significant difference was observed for academic burnout across gender and term groups. Perceived stress played a mediator role between emotional loneliness and academic burnout, while social loneliness had almost no effect on either stress or academic burnout. Stress increased significantly as educational levels increased.Conclusions: According to the results, emotional loneliness and stress increase academic burnout. To alleviate burnout, emotional loneliness and stress should be decreased through various psychosocial interventions, such as group therapies. Addressing the psychological issues and improving the psychological resilience of medical students can also help.

Giriş: Uyku bozukluğu, birçok hastalığa neden olması ve toplumda yaygın görülmesi nedeniyle önemlidir. Bu nedenle uyku bozukluklarını taramak için bazı araçlar geliştirilmiştir. Çalışmamızın amacı bu araçlardan kısa ve uygulanması kolay olan Uykusuzluk Şikayetleri ve Uyku Kalitesi Temel Ölçeğinin Türkçe geçerlilik ve güvenirliğini araştırmaktır. Yöntem: Çalışma, 30 Temmuz-30 Ekim 2020 tarihleri arasında aile hekimliği polikliniğimize başvuran 20-40 yaş arası 180 bireyde yapılmıştır. Ölçek alanında uzman kişiler tarafından önce İngilizce'den Türkçe'ye, sonra tekrar İngilizce'ye çevrilmiştir. Katılımcılara sosyodemografik form, Pittsburgh Uyku Kalite Ölçeği ve Uykusuzluk Şikayetleri ve Uyku Kalitesi Temel Ölçeği uygulanmıştır. Dört hafta sonra aynı örneklemden 30 kişilik küçük bir gruba tekrar testi uygulandı. Verilerin değerlendirilmesinde yüzdelik dağılım ve ortalama, faktör analizi, Pearson korelasyon testi, Cronbach α güvenirlilik katsayısı analizleri kullanıldı. Bulgular: Çalışmaya katılanların %53,3’ü (n=96) kadın, %46,7’si (n=84) erkektir. Çalışmaya dahil olan bireylerin yaşları 20-40 yaş aralığında olup ortalama yaşları 30,6 ± 5,6’dır. Ölçeğin Cronbach alfa katsayısı 0,752 hesaplanmıştır. Birinci ve ikinci uygulamalardaki toplam test puanları arasındaki korelasyon değeri 0,639 (p<0.01) bulunmuştur. Faktör analizi sonucunda ölçeğin iki faktörlü bir yapı sergilediği anlaşılmıştır. Ölçeğin orijinal çalışmasında da iki faktörlü yapıdan söz edilmektedir. Sonuç: Çalışmamızda, Uykusuzluk Şikayetleri ve Uyku Kalitesi Temel Ölçeğinin Türk toplumunda geçerli ve güvenilir bir tarama ölçeği olduğu sonucu ortaya çıkmıştır. Kısa olması ve kolay uygulanabilmesi nedeniyle günlük pratikte yaygın olarak kullanılabilecek olması nedeniyle önemlidir.

Anxiety is inseparable from life due to its survival value. Up-to-date and multidimensional assessment of anxiety is necessary to develop effective interventions to cope with high anxiety levels. This study was conducted to examine the psychometrics of the Anxiety Assessment Scale (AAS). Data were collected between January and April 2021 from 756 students (42.9% males and 57.1% females) studying medicine at Istanbul Medeniyet University. Seven experts evaluated the items to detect content validity in the final application form. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) were used for construct validity. The Beck Anxiety Inventory was also applied for concurrent validity. Test-retest reliabilities were calculated within four weeks. IBM SPSS 25 and AMOS 24 were used for statistical analyses. Data were suitable for factor analyses (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin=0.800, chi-square=3018.854, df=45). The EFA showed the three-factor structure with 10 items, and 70.1% of the variance was explained. Factor loads of the items varied between 0.61 and 0.87; data-model fit was suitable (CFI=0.92, TLI=0.93, RMSEA=0.059, SRMR=0.046, chi-square/df=1.556) according to CFA. Concurrent scale validity was also confirmed by the Pearson correlation (r=0.167, p0.5 (p<0.001). The Cronbach a coefficients were 0.845 (AAS), 0.770 (Physiological Tension=PT), 0.822 (Worrying=W), and 0.838 (Feeling Unsafe=FU). AAS is a reliable and valid measurement instrument to assess anxiety levels in three dimensions. AAS can be applied for research, psychological assessment, and other appropriate application purposes.

Lifelong Learning is a voluntary and self-motivated form of learning that lasts from birth to death for personal and professional reasons. As medical science has a dynamic nature, the knowledge gained in the faculty of medicine mostly will not be enough in the later professional life. The aim of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of the JeffSPLL-MS© in Turkish. Linguistic equivalence analysis was applied first, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was utilized in order to test the construct validity. Concurrent validity was tested by simultaneous administration of Lifelong Learning Trends Scale (LLTS) and JeffSPLL-MS©. Finally, internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the scores gathered from the scales in the study were calculated. Linguistic equivalence study supplied that there is a strong relationship (r=.873, p=.001) between Turkish and English forms of the scale. For CFA, Kaiser Meyer Olkin (KMO) value was .863 and the results of Bartlett Sphericity Test were appropriate (X2 = 1173,6; p=.001, df=91); model-data fit indices for JeffSPLL-MS© with 14 items in three factors were also satisfactory ((X2/df =1,51); RMSEA=0,046; NFI=0,918; RFI=0,902; CFI=0,971) and factor loadings of items were ranging between.522 and.764. The Pearson correlation coefficient as the indicator of concurrent validity of the scales LLTS and JeffSPLL-MS© was calculated as .624 (p=.001). The internal consistency (Cronbach alpha) of the total scores gathered from JeffSPLL-MS© is .843 and stratified alpha coefficient is .892. Cronbach alpha values for the subscales are as follows: .830 (F1=Learning beliefs and motivation), .719 (F2=Skills in seeking information), .721 (F3=Attention to learning opportunities). The test-retest reliability values for the scale, and its subscales were ranged between.709 and.812 within a four-week period. It is concluded that JeffSPLL-MS© can be used as a valid and reliable measurement instrument for medical education studies in Turkey.