TY - JOUR
T1 - Resilience and Empathy in Dental Students
T2 - A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study in Two Latin American Universities
AU - Ulloque, María Jorgelina
AU - Jiménez, Laura Sánchez
AU - Huerta-González, Sara
AU - Vázquez-García, Rubén Eduardo
AU - Vilca, Lindsey W.
AU - Villalba, Silvina
AU - Gamarra-Moncayo, José
AU - Dávila-Pontón, Yolanda
AU - Insignares-Arango, Iván Eduardo
AU - Guerra, Alma Rosa Quiroz
AU - Díaz-Narváez, Víctor P.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 The Author(s). Journal of Dental Education published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Dental Education Association.
PY - 2026
Y1 - 2026
N2 - Objective: To examine the association between resilience and empathy in dental students and to explore how specific resilience dimensions relate to different components of empathy in two Latin American universities. Methods: This cross-sectional study included students from two countries: Argentina (n = 200) and Costa Rica (n = 222). The Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Health Professions Students and the Trait Resilience Scale were administered. Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling were conducted to examine the associations between resilience and empathy. Results: Resilience dimensions showed context-dependent associations with specific empathy dimensions, although not all relationships reached statistical significance. In Costa Rica, engineering resilience showed statistically significant associations with perspective-taking (β = –0.23, p < 0.05) and walking in the patient's shoes (β = 0.19, p < 0.05), while ecological resilience was significantly associated with perspective-taking (β = 0.26, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Resilience showed context-dependent associations with empathy dimensions. These findings underscore the relevance of resilience and empathy as socio-emotional constructs within dental education
AB - Objective: To examine the association between resilience and empathy in dental students and to explore how specific resilience dimensions relate to different components of empathy in two Latin American universities. Methods: This cross-sectional study included students from two countries: Argentina (n = 200) and Costa Rica (n = 222). The Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Health Professions Students and the Trait Resilience Scale were administered. Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling were conducted to examine the associations between resilience and empathy. Results: Resilience dimensions showed context-dependent associations with specific empathy dimensions, although not all relationships reached statistical significance. In Costa Rica, engineering resilience showed statistically significant associations with perspective-taking (β = –0.23, p < 0.05) and walking in the patient's shoes (β = 0.19, p < 0.05), while ecological resilience was significantly associated with perspective-taking (β = 0.26, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Resilience showed context-dependent associations with empathy dimensions. These findings underscore the relevance of resilience and empathy as socio-emotional constructs within dental education
KW - cross-sectional studies
KW - dental education
KW - dental students
KW - empathy
KW - health knowledge, attitudes, practice
KW - Latin America
KW - professional competence
KW - resilience
KW - socio-emotional competencies
KW - structural equation modeling
KW - cross-sectional studies
KW - dental education
KW - dental students
KW - empathy
KW - health knowledge
KW - attitudes
KW - practice
KW - Latin America
KW - professional competence
KW - resilience; socio-emotional competencies
KW - structural equation modeling
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105042264719
U2 - 10.1002/jdd.70291
DO - 10.1002/jdd.70291
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:105042264719
SN - 0022-0337
JO - Journal of Dental Education
JF - Journal of Dental Education
ER -