Empathy – Teen Conflict Survey

Abstract

The Empathy – Teen Conflict Survey (ETCS) is a brief Psychological Scale developed by Bosworth and Espelage in 1995. Designed specifically for use with middle school age youth, the instrument measures key dimensions of Empathy and prosocial attitudes relevant to conflict resolution and peer relationships. It assesses an individual’s ability to demonstrate active listening, exhibit caring toward others (including non-friends), and establish trust. The ETCS utilizes a five-item, self-report format, where higher scores indicate greater levels of empathic capacity and social competence.

Keywords

Empathy, Adolescent, Conflict Resolution, Social Skills, Middle School, Prosocial Behavior, Adolescent Development, Trust, Listening

Authors

Bosworth, K., Espelage, D.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Empathy – Teen Conflict Survey (ETCS) is to quantitatively assess the degree to which middle school youth possess and express empathic attitudes and related prosocial behaviors. The scale is particularly useful in research and intervention programs focused on reducing interpersonal conflict and promoting positive peer interactions among adolescents. By measuring core social competencies like listening and perspective-taking, the ETCS helps identify youth who may benefit from targeted social-emotional learning interventions.

This instrument was compiled as part of a larger effort to catalog assessment tools relevant to Violence Prevention research, specifically focusing on measuring attitudes, behaviors, and influences among youth, suggesting its utility in examining protective factors against aggression and bullying behaviors.

Construct

The Empathy – Teen Conflict Survey measures a unitary construct defined as generalized social Empathy, which is operationalized through several distinct but related competencies essential for positive social functioning. These competencies include the capacity to actively listen to others, the ability to care for the feelings of friends and non-friends alike, and the disposition to trust individuals outside of one’s immediate social circle. The scale focuses on self-reported frequency of statements reflecting these prosocial attitudes.

Validity

Specific detailed information regarding the psychometric validation of the Empathy – Teen Conflict Survey, such as construct validity (e.g., convergent or discriminant validity) or criterion validity, was not provided in the original source material. Researchers utilizing this instrument should refer to the primary publication context or subsequent studies citing Bosworth & Espelage (1995) to evaluate its empirical support.

Reliability

Information concerning the reliability coefficients (e.g., internal consistency, test-retest reliability) for the Empathy – Teen Conflict Survey was not included in the source documentation. Given that the scale consists of only five items, detailed reliability statistics are crucial for determining the consistency and stability of the scores obtained from the instrument.

Factor Analysis

Details regarding any exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis conducted on the Empathy – Teen Conflict Survey were not available in the provided source content. It is assumed that the five items are intended to load onto a single factor representing general empathic capacity and prosocial inclination, but this structure requires empirical verification.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychological Scale

Format: Five items utilizing a 5-point Likert Scale response format.

Language Available: English (based on available source material)

Population Group: Youth

Age Group: Middle school age youth (approximately 11–14 years old)

Population Details: The scale is designed for use in educational or community settings focusing on Adolescent social development and conflict mitigation.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate how often they would make each statement, ranging from 1 (Never) to 5 (Always). Scores are derived by summing the responses across all five items. The total score ranges from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 25. Higher scores are interpreted as reflecting a greater degree of Empathy and prosocial readiness.

Keywords

Social Competence, Assessment Tool, Conflict Management, Peer Relationships, Developmental Psychology, Youth Attitudes, Violence Prevention

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Correspondence can be directed to the authors via their institutional affiliations at the time of publication (Center for Adolescent Studies, Indiana University, 1995), or current professional contacts.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions and Fees: The original instrument was noted as unpublished in 1995. Researchers should contact the authors (Bosworth K. and Espelage D.) or the Center for Adolescent Studies at Indiana University for definitive information on permissions and usage fees.

Test Year: 1995

The instrument is publicly accessible through official government compendiums. The original PDF containing this instrument (page 154 of the compendium) can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf

Reference’s

The following are the primary references related to the creation and documentation of the Empathy – Teen Conflict Survey:

• Bosworth K, Espelage D. Teen Conflict Survey. Bloomington, IN: Center for Adolescent Studies, Indiana University, 1995. (Unpublished)
• Dahlberg LL, Toal SB, Swahn M, Behrens CB. Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools, 2nd ed., Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2005. (The ETCS is found on page 154 of this compendium.)

Items of the Empathy – Teen Conflict Survey

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

How often would you make the following statements?

1. I can listen to others.
2. Kids I don’t like can have good ideas.
3. I get upset when my friends are sad.
4. I trust people who are not my friends.
5. I am sensitive to other people’s feelings, even if they are not my friends.