Psychometric properties of the Polish adaptation of short form of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-Short).

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Polish-language version of the EQ-Short questionnaire, designed to measure affective and cognitive empathy.

Methods: 940 subjects, aged 15-80, took part in the study. Subjects fluent in both Polish and English (N = 31) completed the questionnaire in the original English version and its Polish translation. The remaining subjects (N = 909) participated in a study designed to verify construct validity and reliability of the Polish version of the tool.

Results: The Polish and English versions of the EQ-Short show linguistic equivalence at a satisfactory level (r = 0.80, p < 0.001). Tests of validity and reliability of the translated tool showed that the Polish-language EQ-Short has good psychometric properties (Cronbach's alpha = 0.78), comparable to the original version. In all age groups there were statistically significant sex differences in EQ-Short scores: women scored higher than men.

Conclusions: The Polish-language adaptation of EQ-Short is linguistically and psychometrically similar to the English original and meets the criteria of a reliable tool for measuring empathy.