Empathy and internet use among nursing students: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Empathy is an essential social-emotional skill in nursing for understanding patients and establishing quality therapeutic relationships. Excessive internet use can negatively affect these skills, influencing students' well-being and professional performance. The objective of the study was to analyze the relationship between empathy and internet addiction in nursing students.

Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted at a Spanish public university. One hundred fifty-five nursing students who had completed clinical internships participated. Empathy was assessed using the Jefferson Empathy Scale Health Professionals, and internet addiction was assessed using the Internet Addiction Test. Descriptive analysis, nonparametric tests, and binary logistic regression were performed. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee.

Results: The prevalence of Internet Adiction was 13.5%. More than half of the students used the internet for leisure between 2 and 4 hours a day, with social media being the most frequent activity. Significant differences in empathy were found according to academic year, hours of use, and digital activity. Logistic regression showed that greater overall empathy is associated with a higher probability of Internet addiction, while perspective taking acts as a protective factor, reducing the risk by 6.7% for each point. Conclusions: The prevalence of Internet addiction is low among students. It is recommended to strengthen cognitive empathy as it is a protective factor against Internet addiction. Digital empathy is an emerging competency in nursing education.