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OBJECTIVES Empathy is an essential ability that allows us to tune into how others are feeling or thinking. Empathy makes it possible to resonate with others’ positive and negative feelings alike so that we can thus feel happy when we vicariously share the joy of others and we can share the experience of suffering when we empathize with someone in pain. Empathy training not only promotes prosocial behaviour, but also augments positive affect and resilience, which in turn fosters better coping with stressful situations. The Empathy Quotient (EQ) is a self-report questionnaire that was developed to measure the cognitive, affective, and behavioural aspects of empathy. Here, we aimed to examine the validity, reliability, and factor structure of the EQ in a Turkish sample. METHODS Participants were 436 mostly college students and civil servants (195 female, 241 male). Sociodemographic information, the Turkish version of the EQ, Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC-SDS) 33-item full version and MC-SDS 13-item shorter versions were administered. All statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS version 23 for Windows. RESULTS EQ scores were significantly higher in female participants ($\overline X $ Female = 46.45, SDFemale = 0.62) compared to the male participants ($\overline X $ Male = 43.68, SD Male = 0.56). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the scale was 0.76, Guttman’s split-half reliability coefficient was 0.61, and test–retest reliability coefficient was 0.95. A positive and statistically significant correlation was found between the Turkish EQ and MC-SDS Full version (r = 0.299, p

Objective: Borderline personality disorder is a psychiatric condition, which is characterized by unstable interpersonal relationships, fear of abandonment, difficulties in regulating emotions, feeling of emptiness, chronic dysphoria and depression, and impulsivity and increased risk-taking behaviors. In this present study, we aimed to translate and establish psychometric properties and factorial validity of the Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ) in a representative Turkish university students sample and obtain normative data for future epidemiological and clinical studies in Turkey. Methods: Participants were 306 (201 females, 105 males) college students at the Hasan Kalyoncu University in Gaziantep, Turkey. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hasan Kalyoncu University. Sociodemographic information of the participants was collected and Turkish BEST, Turkish BPQ, BDI, PBQ, and State-Trait Anxiety scales were administered. All variables were screened for the accuracy of data entry, missing values, and homoscedasticity using SPSS version 23 for Windows. Results: The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the Turkish BPQ were ranging from 0.46 to 0.81. The lowest alpha coefficient was observed for the Abandonment (0.46). For the whole scale, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was found to be 0.89. The test–retest (at after 1 month) correlation coefficients for Impulsivity, Affective Instability, Abandonment, Relationships, Self-Image, Suicide/Self-Mutilation, Emptiness, Intense Anger, and Quasi-Psychotic States were found to be 0.50, 0.77, 0.40, 0.68, 0.72, 0.48, 0.73, 0.74, and 0.62, respectively. A positive and statistically significant correlation was found between the Turkish BPQ and BEST (r = 0.337, p

Objective: Borderline Personality Disorder is a psychiatric condition, which is characterized by unstable interpersonal relationships, fear of abandonment, difficulties in regulating emotions, feeling of emptiness, chronic dysphoria and depression, and impulsivity and increased risk-taking behaviors. In this study, we aimed to translate and establish psychometric properties and factorial validity of the Borderline Evaluation of Severity over Time (BEST) in a representative Turkish university students sample and obtain normative data for future epidemiological and clinical studies in Turkey. Methods: Participants were 306 (201 females, 105 males) college students at the Hasan Kalyoncu University in Gaziantep, Turkey. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hasan Kalyoncu University. Sociodemographic information of the participants was collected and Turkish version of the BEST, the Turkish version of the Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Personality Belief Questionnaire (PBQ), and State–Trait Anxiety scales were administered. All statistical analysis were performed by using SPSS version 23 for Windows. Results: The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the Thoughts and Feelings, Negative Behaviors and Positive Behaviors subscales were 0.80, 0.65, and 0.67, respectively. For the whole scale, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.75. The test–retest correlation coefficients for Thoughts and Feelings, Negative Behaviors and Positive Behaviors were 0.61, 0.50, and 0.51, respectively. A positive and statistically significant correlation was found between the Turkish BEST and BPQ (r = 0.337, p