Measuring Empathizing and Systemizing in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Abstract: The Empathizing Quotient (EQ) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ) are validated and extensively applied instruments for measurements within the empathizing–systemizing theory (EST) for adults, however not yet adapted to assess children and adolescents. To implement measurements of the EST in children and adolescents, short and comprehensible instruments are needed. Therefore, a German-language short version was developed and statistically tested in multiple studies. In a first study ( N = 193), wording and contexts were improved, and exploratory factor analyses were used to perform scale reduction. In a second study ( N = 299), the stability of the scale was tested. In a third study ( N = 129), high test–retest reliabilities (empathizing: r = .83, p < .001; systemizing: r = .88, p < .001) were found for the new scales (14 empathizing, 10 systemizing items). In a fourth study ( N = 3062), the factor structure was confirmed, and internal consistency was checked to be in a good range (EQ: Cronbach’s α = .85; SQ: Cronbach’s α = .82). An extensive validity check was carried out in a fifth study, using a subsample of Study 4 ( N = 205), which indicated good agreement with existing studies with respect to, for example, gender or school grades.