Toronto Empathy Questionnaire

What is the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire?

It is normal to feel sympathy when we hear of other people's misfortunes. However, one may sometimes wonder whether they have too little or too much empathy. As they go through this emotional process, self-report measures like an empathy scale might help understand clients.

Empathy is necessary for social interactions, but measuring it accurately may be challenging. It is particularly important for individuals with high-functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome, who might have difficulties with empathy (Baron-Cohen & Wheelwright, 2004).

The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) is a self report questionnaire measuring empathy. It distinguishes between emotional empathy and cognitive empathy, which involves understanding another person's perspective. The TEQ is a reliable, valid, and brief tool with strong internal consistency and high test-retest reliability for assessing empathy (Spreng et al., 2009).

Some statements in the TEQ include if a person has concerned feelings about other people's moods and situations. For example, it can reveal if someone is deeply affected by the emotions of others or if they remain unaffected.

Since the self-report measure focuses on emotional empathy, it examines how individuals respond to others who have been treated unfairly or are dealing with their own serious illnesses. If a person feels a strong urge to help or is feeling excited about supporting others, their score may reflect high empathy. Conversely, a lower score might suggest they have less empathy.

How to use our Toronto Empathy Questionnaire template?

Incorporate this Toronto Empathy Questionnaire in your practice to help with the client's mental health. Here are the steps to use it:

Step 1: Download the template

First, download the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire template. This will provide you with the form needed to assess empathy. You may also check out a sample that we've provided.

Step 2: Instruct patients on how to answer the TEQ

Explain to patients that the TEQ has no right or wrong answers. Let them know they should answer honestly based on their feelings to assess empathy accurately.

Step 3: Have them answer the questionnaire

Have the patients complete the questionnaire by responding to each item. Their answers will help you measure empathy.

Step 4: Calculate the scores

After they finish, add up their responses to get the total score. This will help you understand their level of empathy. Refer to the scoring section below for instructions.

Step 5: Discuss and store the results

Review the results with the patients, discussing what their score means. Store the results securely for future reference and follow-up.

Scoring

TEQ scores range from 0 to 64, with scores of 45 or higher indicating higher empathy and lower scores suggesting less empathy. The scoring system assigns points based on responses:

• Never: 0
• Rarely: 1
• Sometimes: 2
• Often: 3
• Always: 4

Some questions are positively worded (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 16) and scored normally, while negatively worded questions (2, 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15) are reverse-scored. Most non-autistic males score between 43.46 and 44.45, while non-autistic females score between 44.62 and 48.93 (Engelbrecht, 2020; Spreng et al., 2009).

Next steps after conducting the assessment

Here's how to use the results effectively to support their development and track progress:

Review results with your patient

Discuss the assessment results with your patient to help them understand their empathy level. Explain how their score may affect their social interactions and relationships.

Tailor interventions or support strategies

Based on the results, develop and implement specific interventions to address empathy-related issues. This could include social skills training or emotional support tailored to their needs.

Monitor progress

Schedule follow-up assessments to track changes in empathy levels over time. Adjust your strategies as needed to ensure continued improvement and support.

References

Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004). The empathy quotient: An investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(2), 163–175. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:jadd.0000022607.19833.00

Engelbrecht, N. (2020, April 11). Toronto empathy questionnaire. Embrace Autism; Embrace ASD. https://embrace-autism.com/toronto-empathy-questionnaire

Spreng, R. N., McKinnon, M. C., Mar, R. A., & Levine, B. (2009). The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire: Scale development and initial validation of a factor-analytic solution to multiple empathy measures. Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(1), 62–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890802484381