Relationship Between Empathy and Psychological Readiness to Provide First Aid among Students of a Pedagogical University

Abstract

Background. According to the World Health Organization, about 70% of people injured in emergencies die due to the lack of first aid. If assistance is provided correctly within the first five minutes, the chances of survival increase for more than half of the victims. In the context of an unstable situation on the world stage it is important to develop psychological readiness to provide first aid among students. Readiness to help depends on many factors including the level of development of empathy as the ability to empathize.

Objective. The purpose of the work is to investigate the relationship between the level of development of empathy and the level of students’ psychological readiness to provide first aid.

Study Participants. The study was conducted on the basis of “Mari State University” in Yoshkar-Ola. It involved 53 students trained in “Pedagogical education”.

Methods. The methods “Diagnostics of the level of empathy” by V.V. Boyko, and “Psychological readiness to provide assistance to victims in extreme situations” by T.G. Kharitonova, K.S. Stavskaya were used to conduct the study.

Results. The study showed that female students have greater empathic abilities than the male ones, while no significant gender differences were found in the level of psychological readiness to provide first aid. Students have a predominantly low level of empathy and a fairly high level of psychological readiness to provide first aid in extreme situations. This indicates that students have formed cognitive and behavioral components of readiness for action in an extreme situation, while motivational, emotional and communicative aspects of readiness are insufficiently developed.

Conclusions. To improve the effectiveness of future professional activity, it is recommended to include exercises and trainings on developing empathy and emotional intelligence in the curricula of future teachers. Special attention should be paid to medical ethics and the moral aspects of first aid. First aid training plays an important role in developing students’ confidence in their knowledge and abilities, helping to develop calmness and self-control in extreme situations. Simulation of emergency situations is one of the important components of the training programme. Students alternate the roles of the victim and the rescuer in order to understand how to behave in each of these roles. It is also recommended to change partners as well as to use simulators.