FORMIGA, Nilton S. Verification of the factorial hierarchical model of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). []. , 35, 88, pp.214-233. ISSN 1415-711X.

Empathy is understood as the ability of people to place themselves, affective and cognitively in relation to each other. From the many scales that measure this construct, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), from Mark Davis, has been the most extensively used; studies reveal an organization tetrafactorial and factorial of second order of this measure; however, a specific theoretical direction established by Davis and in comparison with other factorial models is not observed. This study aims to verify the factorial structure of IRI, guided by the theoretical proposal and hierarchical factorial established by the author. 1120 individuals, mostly women (52%), average age of 21.51 years, of the secondary and higher levels of five Brazilian states education networks, answer the IRI and the socio-demographic data. It confirms the hierarchical model organized under the affective and cognitive experiences of empathy, that influence, respectively, the existence of dimension fantasy and holling taking, empathic consideration and personal distress. It was also important to observe the existence of a positive correlation between all the factors of empathy and that, from a t-test, women present higher means in relation to men for affective and cognitive experiences of empathy, as well as in all its dimensions. This study reveals that empathy is recognized in the Brazilian population and the alternative forms of assessment of this construct

: Empathy; Model concurrent; Structural analysis.

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