Abstract
Background. Clinical empathy is a key component of effective therapeutic communication in medicine and is influenced by several personal and educational factors. This study aimed to examine the relationship between mental health literacy, moral intelligence, and clinical empathy among medical students.
Methods. This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 168 medical students (externs and interns) at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences during the academic year 1404. Data were collected using the Jefferson Empathy Questionnaire, the Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire (MHKQ), and the Lennick and Kiel Moral Intelligence Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and multiple linear regression.
Results. Physiopathology students (β = −10.13, P = 0.008) and extern students (β = −6.93, P = 0.02) showed significantly lower empathy scores. After adjusting for confounders, gender had a positive but non-significant association with empathy, with female students scoring 1.12 points higher than males on average (P = 0.11). Marital status was not significantly related to empathy (P = 0.53). Regarding educational level, physiopathology students had significantly lower empathy scores than the reference group, while intern students showed a borderline reduction in empathy (β = −5.56, P = 0.06). Moral intelligence demonstrated a positive and significant association with empathy, such that each one-point increase in moral intelligence score increased empathy by 0.05 points (P = 0.001).
Conclusion Enhancing specific dimensions of moral intelligence may improve clinical empathy in medical students. Mental health literacy alone is insufficient to predict empathy and should be addressed through multifaceted educational interventions.