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Association of Vedic Personality Traits and Empathy among Medical Students: A Cross-sectional Study
Correspondence Address :
Dr. Kaushal Kumar Alam,
Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, University College of Medical Sciences, New Delhi-110095, India.
E-mail: kkalam@ucms.ac.in
Introduction: Medical students are expected to provide compassionate and empathic care to their patients. Empathy is a crucial component of the doctor-patient relationship. The Triguna theory is a fundamental concept in Hindu philosophy that describes three inherent qualities of nature: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Each individual has a unique combination of these qualities, which shapes their personality and behaviour. However, the relationship between Triguna personality and empathy in medical students has not been explored in depth.
Aim: To examine the association between Triguna personality and empathy in medical students.
Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey conducted among first-phase medical undergraduates in the Department of Physiology, Rama Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India from July 2024 to August 2024. A total of 122 medical students participated in the study. The Vedic Personality Inventory (VPI) was used for assessing personality, and the Brief form of Interpersonal Reactivity Index (B-IRI) was used for assessing empathy. Correlational analysis and an unpaired student’s t-test were performed.
Results: There were 122 subjects; the proportion of male and female students was 52 (42.6%) and 70 (57.4%), respectively. The mean± Standard Deviation (SD) age was 20.43±1.23 years. Sattva score was positively correlated with Perspective-taking (PT) (r=0.193, p<0.05) and negatively correlated with Personal Distress (PD) scores (r=-0.322, p<0.01). Tamas scores were positively correlated with Fantasy (FT) (r=0.251, p<0.01) and PD scores (r=0.401, p<0.01). Female participants demonstrated significantly higher mean scores as compared to males in Empathic Concern (EC) (16.9±2.681 vs. 14.730±2.951), PT (15.442±2.618 vs. 14.038±2.779), and PD (13.552±2.776 vs. 12.288±3.291) in the present study. There was no significant difference in Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas scores between males and females.
Conclusion: The study explores the association between the VPI traits, such as Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas, and empathy measures. Sattva shows a positive correlation with Perspective Taking (PT) and a negative correlation with PD, indicating that individuals with higher Sattva scores are likely to exhibit better social competence and emotional stability. Additionally, gender differences were observed in empathy scores, with females scoring higher than males in PT, EC, and PD, emphasising the relevance of considering personality traits in medical education to foster empathic skills among healthcare professionals.
Education, Fantasy, Personality inventory, Social skills
DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2024/69342.19515
Date of Submission: Jan 13, 2024
Date of Peer Review: Mar 05, 2024
Date of Acceptance: Apr 19, 2024
Date of Publishing: Jun 01, 2024
AUTHOR DECLARATION:
• Financial or Other Competing Interests: None
• Was Ethics Committee Approval obtained for this study? Yes
• Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? Yes
• For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. NA
PLAGIARISM CHECKING METHODS:
• Plagiarism X-checker: Jan 13, 2024
• Manual Googling: Mar 16, 2024
• iThenticate Software: Apr 17, 2024 (15%)
ETYMOLOGY: Author Origin
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