The relationship between Empathy and listening styles is complex: implications for doctors in training

Abstract

Abstract Background Effective communication is the key to a successful relationship between doctors and their patients. Empathy facilitates effective communication, but physicians vary in their ability to empathize with patients. Listening styles are a potential source of this difference. We aimed to assess empathy and listening styles among medical students and whether students with certain listening styles are more empathetic. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 97 medical students completed the Jefferson scale of Empathy (JSE) and the revised version of the Listening Styles Profile (LSP-R). The relationship between empathy and listening styles was assessed by comparing JSE scores across different listening styles using ANOVA in SPSS software. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results Overall, the students showed a mean empathy score of 103 ± 14 on JSE. Empathy scores were lower among clinical students compared to preclinical students. Most of the medical students preferred the analytical listening style. The proportion of students who preferred the relational listening style was lower among clinical students compared to preclinical students. There was no significant relationship between any of the listening styles with empathy. Conclusion Our results do not support an association between any particular listening style with medical students’ empathic ability. We propose that students who have better empathetic skills might shift between listening styles flexibly rather than sticking to a specific listening style.