Sample
The BES was constructed using a sample of 363 Year 10 adolescents (194 males and 169 females whose mean
age was 14.8 years). A separate validation sample included 357 Year 10 students (182 males and 175 females).
Reliability
Internal Consistency
Jolliffe and Farrington (2006a) reported an overall Cronbach alpha coefficient of .87 (.79 and .85 for cognitive
and affective components). Stavrinides et al. (2010) reported alpha coefficients for cognitive (.80 and .83) and
affective components (.71 and .77), respectively. In an Italian study ( Albiero et al., 2009 ), an alpha coefficient of
.87 for the total scale was reported (.74 for cognitive and .86 for affective empathy). A Chinese study ( Geng, Xia,
& Qin, 2012 ) reported an alpha coefficient of .77 for the total scale (.72 for cognitive, and .73 for affective empa-
thy). In a French study ( N5370), Carre ´et al. (2013) reported alpha coefficients for cognitive (.71), and affective
components (.74), respectively.
Test/C0Retest
Test/C0retest reliability over a 3-week interval for the BES was demonstrated for a French adaptation ( r5.66)
(D’Ambrosia et al., 2009 ) and for the Chinese version over a 4-week interval ( r5.70) ( Geng et al., 2012 ).
D’Ambrosia et al. also reported test /C0retest coefficients for the affective empathy subscale ( r5.70) and for the
cognitive empathy subscale ( r5.54). Likewise, Carre ´et al. (2013) reported a test /C0retest coefficient of .56 for the
BES cognitive empathy component ( N5222) over a 7-week interval.
Validity
Convergent/Concurrent
Jolliffe and Farrington (2006a) reported that total scores on the BES correlate positively with total scores on the
IRI for males ( r5.53) and females ( r5.43), respectively. The BES affective component correlates more strongly
with IRI Perspective Taking ( r5.51) than with Empathic Concern ( r5.33) in males. Likewise, the BES cognitive
component correlates more strongly with IRI Perspective Taking ( r5.44) than with Empathic Concern ( r5.37)
for females. The BES also correlated positively with the earlier constructed BEES for both males ( r5.59) and
females ( r5.70) in an Italian sample ( Albiero et al., 2009 ). Total BES scores correlate positively with agreeable-
ness in males ( r5.30) and females ( r5.24), conscientiousness for males only ( r5.17), openness for males
(r5.34) and females ( r5.15), and neuroticisim for females only ( r5.16) ( Jolliffe & Farrington, 2006a ).
Divergent/Discriminant
Jolliffe and Farrington (2006a) reported that total BES scores correlate negatively with a measure of alexithy-
mia, although this appeared to reflect a significant negative relationship with cognitive empathy only ( r52.21
for males; r52.31 for females). Females obtain significantly higher scores than males on affective empathy, cog-
nitive empathy and total empathy scores ( Jolliffe & Farrington, 2006a ). These sex differences in reported empathy
have been replicated in an Italian study ( Albiero et al., 2009 ).
Construct/Factor Analytic
The BES was constructed using a principal components analysis (plus orthogonal varimax rotation) to reduce
the 40-item scale into affective and cognitive empathy factors ( Jolliffe & Farrington, 2006a ). Confirmatory factor
analysis ( N5720), revealed that a good fit to the data was obtained for the two-factor solution: GFI (.89), the
AGFI (.86), and the RMSR (.06). The affective and cognitive subscales were significantly correlated for males
(r5.41) and females ( r5.43). Subsequently, Carre ´et al. (2013) carried out a CFA ( N5370) which provided sup-
port for both two- and three-dimensional BES structures.
Criterion/Predictive
For both males and females, BES total scores were higher among individuals who reported that they would
help in a real-life incident requiring their assistance, than in those who reported that the incident was none of
their business ( Jolliffe & Farrington, 2006a ).266 10. MEASURES OF EMPATHY: SELF-REPORT , BEHAVIORAL, AND NEUROSCIENTIFIC APPROACHES
III. EMOTION REGULATION