Exploring the Relationship of personality characteristics and spirituality to empathy: Does spirituality add to our understanding?

Although research generally supports a relationship between certain personality dimensions and empathy, there is relatively little empirical information directly examining the relationship between spirituality and empathy. This study sought to explore the relationship of spirituality to empathy, while including relevant personality dimensions. Multidimensional measures of spirituality (Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale) and personality (Big Five Inventory) were used with a sample of both students and practitioners. Students included both undergraduate and graduate social work students from four universities. Practitioners included both social workers and nurses from a local hospital. Results demonstrated that only one spirituality dimension (Spiritual Perspective) was correlated with empathy. While this Spiritual Perspective dimension was not a significant predictor in a regression model, the interaction term of Spiritual Perspective and Agreeableness (personality) was significant in predicting empathy.