Empathy (non)erosion: a cross-sectional study of empathy levels and trait emotional intelligence in Slovak medical students

Aim: Empathy is a vital component of medical and nursing practice. However, research on empathy erosion among healthcare students has produced mixed findings, potentially due to measurement-related limitations. This study is the first to examine empathy erosion among Slovak medical students within the framework of trait emotional intelligence (TEI). Design:Quantitative, correlational-comparative, cross-sectional study. Methods: Data were collected from 545 medical students across all six years of study (57% women; Mage=22.3, SDage=2.1) via an online questionnaire assessing empathy (Empathy Quotient; EQ) and trait emotional intelligence (TEIQue–SF). ANOVA was used to compare empathy and TEI across study years, followed by correlational and linear regression analyses to explore the relationships between empathy and TEI. Results: No significant differences in empathy or TEI were observed across study years. Female students scored higher inempathy. TEI and its factors were significant predictors of EQ, explaining 14% and 36% of the variance in empathy scores, respectively. Conclusion: The findings indicate that empathy, TEI, and its factors do not vary significantly across the demanding years of medical training. These results highlight the importance of careful selection of measurement tools when assessing psychological constructs.