A sample of 221 11th grade students and their parents were asked to complete the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; M. H. Davis, 1980), which is comprised of 4 subscales: empathic concern, perspective taking, fantasy, and personal distress; and a global-item measure containing 4 items, 1 for each subscale. The factorial structure that emerged in a previous study (C. Cliffordson, 2000) involving the students was tested on ratings provided by their parents. The results from the IRI scale were also compared to results from the global-item measure. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the structure of empathy and the agreement of self/other judgments. The results support the conclusions from the previous study that the concept of empathy can be considered to be identical to empathic concern, which also explains a great deal of perspective taking and fantasy. The agreement between the students' and their parents' judgments was substantial, and there are several reasons to believe that the interjudge agreement obtained is accurate.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the structure of empathy using a hierarchical approach, and to compare the dimensions of empathy with measures of social functioning, in order to contribute to the understanding of the nature of empathy. The dimensionality of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, which comprises four subscales (empathic concern, perspective taking, fantasy and personal distress) was examined using confirmatory factor analysis. Relations with the Social Skills Inventory were also investigated. A sample of 127 applicants for places on nursing and social work undergraduate programs participated in the study. The study findings indicate that empathy is hierarchi-cally organized, with one general dimension at the apex. The general factor is identical to empathic concern and this dimension overlaps to a great extent with perspective taking and fantasy. The findings also indicate that the general dimension constitutes an integrated entirety, with its main emphasis on emotional reactivity by also involving cognitive processes.