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Background: Do autistic people share the same moral foundations as typical people? Here we built on two prominent theories in psychology, moral foundations theory and the empathizing–systemizing (E–S) theory, to observe the nature of morality in autistic people and systemizers. Methods: In dataset 1, we measured five foundations of moral judgements (Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity) measured by the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) in autistic (n = 307) and typical people (n = 415) along with their scores on the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ). In dataset 2, we measured these same five foundations along with E–S cognitive types (previously referred to as "brain types") in a large sample of typical people (N = 7595). Results: Autistic people scored the same on Care (i.e., concern for others) as typical people (h1). Their affective empathy (but not their cognitive empathy) scores were positively correlated with Care. Autistic people were more likely to endorse Fairness (i.e., giving people what they are owed, and treating them with justice) over Care (h2). Their systemizing scores were positively correlated with Fairness. Autistic people or those with a systemizing cognitive profile had lower scores on binding foundations: Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity (h3). Systemizing in typical people was positively correlated with Liberty (i.e., hypervigilance against oppression), which is a sixth moral foundation (h4). Although the majority of people in all five E–S cognitive types self-identified as liberal, with a skew towards empathizing (h5), the percentage of libertarians was highest in systemizing cognitive types (h6). E–S cognitive types accounted for 2 to 3 times more variance for Care than did sex. Limitations: Our study is limited by its reliance on self-report measures and a focus on moral judgements rather than behavior or decision-making. Further, only dataset 2 measured political identification, therefore we were unable to assess politics in autistic people. Conclusions: We conclude that some moral foundations in autistic people are similar to those in typical people (despite the difficulties in social interaction that are part of autism), and some are subtly different. These subtle differences vary depending on empathizing and systemizing cognitive types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We aimed to validate the Children's Empathy Quotient (EQ‐C) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ‐C) in Mainland China, which can reflect the profiles of empathizing and systemizing, and describing specific characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and gender‐typical behaviors in general population. A total of 800 typically developing (TD) children, aged 4–12 years was recruited initially with whose parents/guardians complete the measurements, and 782 TD children who met inclusion criteria were finally included. A 23‐item three‐factor EQ‐C and a 22‐item four‐factor SQ‐C was developed with good internal consistency (Omega total values of 0.87 and 0.86) and test–retest reliability (Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.82 and 0.69). In TD children, girls scored significantly higher on EQ‐C (31.4 ± 7.8 vs. 28.2 ± 7.7) but there were no gender differences in SQ‐C scores. TD children showed different cognitive styles (empathizing‐dominant for girls with 42.6% identified as Type E; systemizing‐dominant for boys with 40.7% identified as Type S). A further sample of 222 children with ASD indicated that they scored lower on EQ/SQ‐C compared to TD children (13.2 ± 5.1 vs. 29.7 ± 7.9, 12.4 ± 5.8 vs. 23.5 ± 8.3) and were generally systemizing‐dominant (Type S: 50.8% for boys and 64.0% for girls). Autistic children scored higher on the SQ‐C in those without intellectual disability and with higher paternal education level and family income (14.2 ± 6.1 vs. 10.9 ± 5.0, 13.3 ± 6.2 vs. 11.5 ± 5.1, 13.7 ± 5.6 vs. 11.9 ± 5.8), while there were no differences in the EQ‐C. This study indicated good reliability and validity of the Chinese version of EQ/SQ‐C, which can be used in Chinese children with and without ASD. Lay Summary: We developed the Chinese version of the Children's Empathy Quotient (EQ‐C) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ‐C) in 782 typically developing (TD) children aged 4–12 years in Mainland China, yielding a 23‐item, 3‐factor EQ‐C and a 22‐item, 4‐factor SQ‐C with good psychometric properties. In TD children, we found gender difference only in scores of EQ‐C. Further analyses of 222 autistic children indicated that differences were found in scores of SQ‐C when considering their gender, intelligence and socio‐economic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensory features in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have received increasing interest in clinical work and research during the recent years. With the Sensory Perception Quotient (SPQ), Tavasolli and colleagues have produced a self-rating scale for adults with ASD that measures sensory hyper-sensitivity in different sensory modalities, without also tapping cognitive or motivational aspects that precede or follow autistic sensory experiences. Here, we present the results of a translation of the SPQ to German and its short version as well as their validation in samples of autistic or neuro-typical participants. We, furthermore, present the psychometric properties and validities of Tavasolli's original SPQ-short version as well as an alternative short version based on different psychometric item-selection criteria. We can show here that our alternative SPQ-short version, overlapping with the original short-version in 61% of its items, exhibits superior reliabilities, reasonable concurrent validities with other related measures. It, furthermore, exhibits excellent differentiation between autistic and non-autistic samples, underscoring its utility as a screening instrument in research and a clinical instrument to supplement the ASD diagnostic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homophobic bullying is a major social issue, especially in the school settings. This may be particularly common in many Western countries but it appears globally. Bullying causes both short and long-term problems hence its prevention must be seen as a relevant and urgent step in educational settings. Psycho-educational programs should be promoted in order to help eliminate school-children's prejudices and bias about gay and lesbian peers, homophobic bullying. 191 school-children (n = 101 females, n = 90 males), aged 12–14 years old, attending a secondary school in Foggia (Italy) were recruited and assessed at baseline (T0) and 2 months (T1) after receiving a systematized, repeated psycho-education aimed to promote their awareness on sexual variations, and reduce homophobic prejudices and stereotypes. They were assessed for their empathy quotients, their knowledge of gender– related stereotypes, homophobic attitudes, anger, emotional regulation, before (T0) and after the intervention (T1) in a standardized manner. The psychoeducational program significantly reduced homophobia levels towards gays (−9.38%) and lesbians (−5.42%,) as well as improved emotional adjustment (+25.9%) and pro-sociality (+3.85%) among school-children (0.0486≤ all p < 0.0001). Also, a statistically significant improvement of empathy (+11.3%) and levels of state anger (+0.35%) has been significantly reported. This study reports on the benefits of a repeated, systematic, prospective psycho-educational intervention conducted in the school-setting leading to an improvement of empathy, pro-sociality, emotional regulation and a reduction of homophobic attitudes and anger among students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empathy is essential for social functioning and is relevant to a host of clinical conditions. This COSMIN review evaluated the empirical support for empathy self-report measures used with autistic and nonautistic adults. Given autism is characterized by social differences, it is the subject of a substantial proportion of empathy research. Therefore, this review uses autism as a lens through which to scrutinize the psychometric quality of empathy measures. Of the 19 measures identified, five demonstrated "High-Quality" evidence for "Insufficient" properties and cannot be recommended. The remaining 14 had noteworthy gaps in evidence and require further evaluation before use with either group. Without tests of measurement invariance or differential item functioning, the extent to which observed group differences represent actual trait differences remains unknown. Using autism as a test case highlights an alarming tendency for empathy measures to be used to characterize, and potentially malign vulnerable populations before sufficient validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ) are employed across countries to assess empathizing and systemizing abilities, however limited research on EQ and SQ has been conducted in China. To this end, the current study investigated psychometric properties of these two questionnaires in Chinese university students (n = 1564). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicated that previous structures of EQ and SQ did not fit this sample adequately. Exploratory Factor Analysis and CFA were then conducted to produce a 22-item three-factor EQ and a shortened 12-item one-factor SQ; both questionnaires were reliable and valid. In comparison to previous research, gender differences of the EQ were small in effect size, whereas that of the SQ were medium in effect size. Moreover, EQ scores were negatively correlated with traits of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), consistent with the hypothesis of Extreme Male Brain of ASD, but SQ scores were negatively correlated with traits of ASD, inconsistent with the Extreme Male Brain hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the interplay between intonational cues and individual variability in the perceptual assessment of speakers’ epistemic bias in Salerno Italian yes-no questions. We present a perception experiment in which we manipulated pitch span within the nuclear configuration (both nuclear accent and boundary tone) to predict degree of perceived positive bias (i.e., expected positive answer) to yes-no question stimuli. Our results show that a wider pitch span within the nuclear region predicts a higher degree of perceived positive bias, while negative bias is predicted by narrow pitch span. Crucially, though, two interacting sources of listener variability were uncovered, i.e., prolonged exposure to a non-native dialect as well as degree of empathy (i.e., Empathy Quotient, EQ). Exposure to non-native phonological systems was found to affect the way pitch span is mapped onto perceived epistemic bias, through category interference, though mediated by EQ levels. Specifically, high-empathy listeners were more affected by degree of non-native dialect exposure. EQ scores were hence found to have an effect on gradual span manipulation by interacting with the dialect exposure effect. These results advance our understanding of the intonation-meaning mapping by taking into account both the impact of gradual phonetic cues on meaning processing as well as uncovering sources of cognitive variability at the perceiver’s level.

Empathy and systemising skill are very important for strengthening pro-social behaviour. However, the EQ-C/SQ-C questionnaire was originally framed in the English language and has not been translated into the Indonesian language. Therefore, this study aims at validating and to analysing the reliability of the EQ-C/ SQ-C in the Indonesian version. The study used a cross-sectional design that included 752 primary school students and their parents .They were selected randomly in accordance with their willingness to participate in the study. The parents were asked to fill the EQ-C/SQ-C questionnaire. The educational background of the parents was at least secondary high school. The analysis included content and construct validity, internal consistency reliability test. All analyses were run on SPSS for Mac version 21. The age of children ranged between 4–14 years, with mean (SD) being 10.07 (0.07). The educational background of parents was mostly above the high school degree. The content validity analysis showed that four statements of the EQ-C/ SQ-C Indonesian version were not validated by the experts’ judgment; therefore, they were deleted. The construct validation done after deleting 7 items of EQ-C and 6 items of SQ-C, the requirement for principle component analysis was accomplished. Principal component analysis of EQ-C/SQ-C items extracted three components with eigenvalue >1. These two components justified 64.39% of the total EQ-C/SQ-C variance. Internal consistency was good with Cronbach’s alpha 0.979. EQ-C/SQ-C Indonesian version had a shorter version with 38 items. It was a valid and reliable questionnaire to measure the empathy and systemizing skills among Indonesian children.

Abstract Background When the minority college students from the ethnic minority communities come to study in Chinese Han region, they encounter adapting difficulties of culture and socio-psychology, in which empathy plays a crucial role. Current instruments used to measure empathy have many limited effectiveness. The empathy quotient (EQ) scale which has been validated in many countries was explicitly designed for clinical applications and was intended to be sensitive to a lack of empathy. This study is to develop a complete Chinese version of the EQ scale and to assess its reliability and validity among Chinese minority college students in the Han Chinese region. Methods A total of 1638 Chinese minority college students in the Han region were selected and were randomly divided into two groups. One group of 818 students took part in the implementation of the exploratory factor analysis while the other group of 820 students participated in the confirmatory factor analysis. Results Twenty-nine items of the EQ were retained based on the factor analysis and four factors were extracted: self-awareness, cognitive empathy, social skills, and emotional reactivity, which can explain 51.793% of the total variance. The factors of the EQ scale were significantly correlated with each other, with the correlation coefficient ranging from 0.316 to 0.563. The coefficient of internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) was 0.824 for the total scale and ranged from 0.640 to 0.818 for the subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis proved that the measured data fitted well with the hypothesized four-factor model. All of the items in the scale fitted the model well, and the point-measure correlation coefficient had acceptable consistency. Conclusions The refined 29-item Chinese version of the EQ possesses good reliability and validity, and can be applied in assessing empathy among Chinese minority college students.

Autistic traits lie on a continuously distributed spectrum ranging from non-clinical to clinical conditions. Indeed, autistic traits have been observed in general population at sub-threshold levels. Here, the main aim was to investigate differences in resting state (RS) electroencephalographic (EEG) power spectrum in individuals with high vs. low autistic traits. Fifty undergraduates completed the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and the Empathy Quotient (EQ). For each participant five minutes of RS-EEG were recorded and analysed by means of the exact Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography software (eLORETA). A Two-Step Cluster Analysis revealed two groups: high autistic traits (AT+) and low autistic traits (AT−) group. Compared to AT−, AT+ individuals showed an increase of delta power in parietal/occipital and cortico-limbic areas. No alterations were observed in other frequency bands. Furthermore, both AQ and EQ total scores were positively correlated with delta EEG power after controlling for sex, age, and subclinical psychopathological traits. Results show that AT+ individuals exhibit an increase in slow RS EEG power in regions involved in self-referential processes, suggesting a reduction in these internally directed mental activities and adding new evidence on the existence of a continuum in the autistic spectrum which spreads from clinical to non-clinical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we were interested to investigate how autistic traits (including systemizing and empathy) and academic degree influence individuals' visuospatial abilities. To this end, 352 university students completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), the Empathy Quotient, the Systemizing Quotient (SQ) and visuospatial tests measuring figure disembedding and mental rotation of two-dimensional figures. Engineering-design students (architecture and engineering) were the most accurate in disembedding and mentally rotating figures, followed by students of physical sciences (computer science, chemistry, physics, etc.) and fact-based humanities (languages, classics, law); biological (psychology and neuroscience, etc.) and systems-based social scientists (economics and commerce) were the least accurate. Engineering-design students also showed higher SQ scores with respect to the other four academic degree subjects, with students of biological sciences showing lower SQ scores. Importantly, results from a path analysis revealed that SQ (but not AQ) exerted an indirect effect on figure disembedding and mental rotations through the influence of the academic degree. Thus, the present findings reveal shady differences in systemizing degree and visuospatial performance within systemizing-based degree subjects. Implications for education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics forms a foundation for the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. While considerable work has identified the individual cognitive and external systemic factors that influence math achievement, less is known about personality-like traits that might contribute to success in mathematics, especially among women. This study examines two such traits: systemizing – the tendency to analyze systems and extract underlying rules that govern their behavior – and empathizing – the ability to identify with another’s emotions and respond appropriately. Recently Escovar et al. (2016) found that empathizing was a negative predictor of math skills in children, especially among girls, suggesting that women with higher empathy might be particularly disposed to lower math performance. In the first study, 142 participants (71 female) completed two standardized measures of math achievement and questionnaires to gauge the tendency to empathize and systemize. Surprisingly, higher empathy was associated with better math performance in women, while men displayed the expected pattern of lower empathy being related to higher math scores. In a second study, we extend this finding in women (n = 121) to show that individuals who report higher mathematics achievement in university level course work also have higher empathy scores. Further, while positive attitudes toward mathematics tended to decline from elementary school to college, women whose attitudes increased had higher empathy scores than those who declined. Together, these results suggest that while the tendency to empathize is associated with worse math performance in childhood, it may become a protective factor as women progress through their mathematics education.

The aim of the present study was to investigate associations between four highly used self-report measures assessing empathy (measured as both a unidimensional and multidimensional construct), autistic tendencies, and systemizing tendencies. Participants in this study completed the following self-report measures: The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Empathy Quotient (EQ) to measure empathy, and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and the Systemizing Quotient–Revised (SQ-R) to assess autistic and systemizing tendencies, respectively. The final sample consisted of N = 1,098 participants (304 males) without a diagnosed autism spectrum disorder, most of whom were university students. The IRI scale “Perspective Taking” and the EQ were negatively related to the AQ in male and female participants, while the IRI scale “Empathic Concern” was negatively related to the AQ in females only. Moreover, the AQ was positively related to the SQ-R in females only. Lastly, the SQ-R and a number of the empathy scales were significantly associated: For example and surprisingly, the EQ correlated weakly and positively with the SQ-R in both male and female participants. The results from this study illustrate how standard self-report measures of empathy, autistic tendencies, and systemizing tendencies are associated with each other in a large sample not diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, some potential gender-specific effects are revealed.

• The occurrence of autistic or autism-like traits in chronic depression (CD) has been rarely explored. • We measured autistic traits in chronically depressed adult patients. • Almost 50% of patients with CD displayed elevated autistic traits and a subgroup of 6.5% met the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder. • The interaction between autistic or autism-like traits and CD might be an important clinical issue and a possible focus of therapy for CD. Chronic depression is characterized by persistent or recurrent depressive symptoms, defined according to DSM criteria, and is associated with lack of empathy; deficits in social perception, interaction, and communication; and social withdrawal. These symptoms are reminiscent of autism spectrum disorders, yet the co-occurrence of autistic traits and chronic depression has been rarely explored. We explored measures of autistic traits in chronically depressed adult patients in order to further define and delineate the overlap of symptoms between chronic depression and autism spectrum disorders. Three groups were tested: 31 patients with chronic depression, 27 patients with autism spectrum disorder, and 31 healthy controls. The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and the Empathy Quotient (EQ) were used to measure autistic traits. The severity of depression was measured by Beck's Depression Inventory. The group of chronically depressed patients showed significantly elevated autistic traits according to both AQ and EQ measures. In addition, 48.4% of the patients with chronic depression showed AQ scores within the range of the broader autistic phenotype. Similar scores were found among 3.2% of the healthy controls and 100% of the patients with autism spectrum disorder. About half of the chronically depressed patients showed elevated autistic or autism-like traits. It remained unclear whether this was due to the state of chronic depression or a kind of premorbid autistic personality trait. The findings illustrate the need for further research to clarify the possible role of autistic traits in the development of chronic depression. Furthermore, they reveal that it might be clinically useful to focus on autism-like social impairments in therapy for chronic depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate associations between four highly used self-report measures assessing empathy (measured as both a unidimensional and multidimensional construct), autistic tendencies, and systemizing tendencies. Participants in this study completed the following self-report measures: The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Empathy Quotient (EQ) to measure empathy, and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and the Systemizing Quotient–Revised (SQ-R) to assess autistic and systemizing tendencies, respectively. The final sample consisted of N = 1,098 participants (304 males) without a diagnosed autism spectrum disorder, most of whom were university students. The IRI scale "Perspective Taking" and the EQ were negatively related to the AQ in male and female participants, while the IRI scale "Empathic Concern" was negatively related to the AQ in females only. Moreover, the AQ was positively related to the SQ-R in females only. Lastly, the SQ-R and a number of the empathy scales were significantly associated: For example and surprisingly, the EQ correlated weakly and positively with the SQ-R in both male and female participants. The results from this study illustrate how standard self-report measures of empathy, autistic tendencies, and systemizing tendencies are associated with each other in a large sample not diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, some potential gender-specific effects are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empathy is the ability to understand and share other people's emotions. Researchers have debated whether Westerners and Asians differ in their self-report empathy. This study aimed to replicate a previously reported culture–sex interaction in self-report empathy using Australian and Mainland Chinese participants, to investigate the cultural differences in self-report empathy in each sex group, and to verify the moderated mediating effects of three empathy-related traits (i.e., independent self-construal, interdependent self-construal, and personal distress) on the cultural differences in self-report empathy in both sex groups. In this study, scores on two self-report questionnaires of empathy, namely, the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), were compared between 196 Australian Caucasian (101 males) and 211 Mainland Chinese (59 males) university students. Results first confirmed the significant culture–sex interaction and illustrated that the cultural differences in empathy scores were significant only for female (i.e., Australian females had higher scores than Mainland Chinese females) but not for male participants. Furthermore, results of moderated mediation analyses indicated that higher self-report empathy in both females and males was related to higher interdependent self-construal (exhibited by Mainland Chinese) and less personal distress (exhibited by Australians), and particularly in females, also related to higher independent self-construal (exhibited by Australian females). The current study is one of few studies that suggest cultural differences in empathy are dependent on the sex of the participant. Moreover, the current findings have added new insights into the explanation of cultural differences in empathy using personal distress and self-construal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the empathy quotient (EQ) and systemizing quotient (SQ) in a Farsi-speaking population. Method: This study explores the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Farsi translations of the 22-item version of EQ and the 25-item version of SQ among 542 young university students. Results: Applying a cross-validation approach, a 14-item two-factor model and a 15-item four-factor model for the Farsi translations of the short versions of EQ and SQ, respectively, were extracted from the exploratory dataset using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the validation dataset confirmed the factor structures identified by EFA. In addition, acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability were demonstrated for the Farsi translations of the 14-item two-factor EQ model and the 15-item four-factor SQ model. Conclusion: The results suggested further evidence in favor of the multi-factorial constructs of the EQ and SQ and validity and reliability of the scales.

Objective: This study was conducted to recognize the problems of living with a sibling with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to improve their quality of life. Method: A total of 30 participants were selected among the 4-to11- year-old siblings of children who had referred to Tehran Psychiatric Institute due to autism spectrum disorder. For the control group, 30 children aged 4 to11years old who were the siblings of patients with chronic diseases referring to Pediatric Clinic of Rasoul-e Akram (PBUH) hospital were selected. Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition (GARS-2) was filled out for patients and siblings participating in the study and Child Behavior Checklist was completed by their parents. Results: The mean age of the patients in this study was 4.46 ± 9.66 years (range: 1.5-22 years), and the mean age in the healthy children was 2.54 ± 8.18 years (range: 4-11 years). The mean scores of anxiety/depression, withdrawn/depressed, somatic complaints, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, and rule-breaking behavior subscale of CBCL (Child Behavior Checklist) were not significantly different between groups. Aggressive behavior was the only subscale that showed such difference (p = 0.008). Externalizing problems in children who had siblings with ASD was higher than children who had siblings with physical illness. In a group in which a sibling had ASD, sisters were more anxious/ depressed than brothers. Conclusion: Due to various psychological and social problems that siblings of children with ASD experience throughout their life, studying their psychological problems to improve their quality of life seems to be of paramount importance.

Objective: We aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the empathy quotient (EQ) and systemizing quotient (SQ) in a Farsi-speaking population. Method: This study explores the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Farsi translations of the 22-item version of EQ and the 25-item version of SQ among 542 young university students. Results: Applying a cross-validation approach, a 14-item two-factor model and a 15-item four-factor model for the Farsi translations of the short versions of EQ and SQ, respectively, were extracted from the exploratory dataset using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the validation dataset confirmed the factor structures identified by EFA. In addition, acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability were demonstrated for the Farsi translations of the 14-item two-factor EQ model and the 15-item four-factor SQ model. Conclusion: The results suggested further evidence in favor of the multi-factorial constructs of the EQ and SQ and validity and reliability of the scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study was conducted to recognize the problems of living with a sibling with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to improve their quality of life. Method: A total of 30 participants were selected among the 4-to11-year-old siblings of children who had referred to Tehran Psychiatric Institute due to autism spectrum disorder. For the control group, 30 children aged 4 to11years old who were the siblings of patients with chronic diseases referring to Pediatric Clinic of Rasoul-e Akram (PBUH) hospital were selected. Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition (GARS-2) was filled out for patients and siblings participating in the study and Child Behavior Checklist was completed by their parents. Results: The mean age of the patients in this study was 4.46 ± 9.66 years (range: 1.5-22 years), and the mean age in the healthy children was 2.54 ± 8.18 years (range: 4-11 years). The mean scores of anxiety/depression, withdrawn/depressed, somatic complaints, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, and rule-breaking behavior subscale of CBCL (Child Behavior Checklist) were not significantly different between groups. Aggressive behavior was the only subscale that showed such difference (p = 0.008). Externalizing problems in children who had siblings with ASD was higher than children who had siblings with physical illness. In a group in which a sibling had ASD, sisters were more anxious/ depressed than brothers. Conclusion: Due to various psychological and social problems that siblings of children with ASD experience throughout their life, studying their psychological problems to improve their quality of life seems to be of paramount importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to revise an existing measure of distorted cognitions, creating the How I Think Questionnaire - Intellectual Disabilities (HIT-IDs), and to investigate the reliability and validity of the revised questionnaire. To achieve our aims, we recruited 97 men with intellectual disabilities (IDs), with or without a history of engaging in criminal behaviour, and interviewed them on two occasions, inviting them to complete the HIT-IDs, along with measures of moral development and empathy. The results indicated that the internal consistency of the HIT-IDs was acceptable, and the test-retest reliability was good. The HIT-IDs discriminated well between offenders and non-offenders, and as expected, correlated positively with a measure of moral development and negatively with a measure of empathy. The HIT-IDs is a reliable and valid measure for use with men who have IDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between psychological well-being and empathy quotient among 200 married students, 100 female and 100 make, in city of Najafabad, Iran. The study uses a questionnaire with 84 questions for measuring psychological well-being, which consists of six parts including Autonomy, Environmental mastery, Personal growth, Positive relation with others, Purpose in life and Self-acceptance, each with 14 questions. Cronbach alphas for these six items were calculated as 0.83, 0.86, 0.85, 0.88, 0.88 and 0.91, respectively. In order to measure empathy quotient (EQ), the study uses EQ-short form, which consists of 22 questions. Cronbach alpha has been calculated as 0.93, which is well above the minimum acceptable level of 0.70. Using stepwise regression technique, the study determines a positive and meaningful relationship between EQ and psychological well-being.

The aim of the work was to develop and prove a Russian version of the Empathy Quotient, a new tool to measure empathy. A sample of 221 volunteers from the general population filled this questionnaire, the Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy and the Quotient of Empathic Abilities. The coefficients of test-retest reliability, internal consistency and validity were high. In a factor analysis three factors were found that correspond to cognitive, emotional and social skills subscales. A short version with seven questions in each subscale was elaborated and it had acceptable psychometric properties as well.