일부 치위생과 여학생들의 공감능력 및 의사소통능력과 장애인에 대한 태도와의 연관성 = The Relationships Among Empathic Abilities, Communication Competence and Their Attitudes Toward the Disabled in Female Students at a Dental Hygiene Department

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to explore the degree of empathic abilities, communication competence and their attitudes toward the disabled and identify the relationships among them in female dental hygiene students.
Methods: The set of data used in this study were collected from September 2–11, 2020 by means of a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 190 female students in their second and third year of study at the dental hygiene department of a university located in the Gyeongsangnam-do province in South Korea participated in the study. The questionnaire comprised nine questions on general characteristics, 30 on empathic abilities, 15 on communication competence, and 41 on attitudes toward the disabled. The measurement scales used in this study were the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) for empathic abilities, the Interpersonal Communication Competence Scale (GICC) for communication competence, and the Disability Factor Scale (DFS) for attitudes toward the disabled. Except for the participants’ general characteristics, all the variables were measured on a Likert scale.
Means and standard deviations were used to analyze the students’ general characteristics, empathic abilities, communication competence, and attitudes toward the disabled. The differences in the participants’ abilities and attitudes were analyzed according to their general characteristics using an ANOVA and t-test. In addition, the Pearson correlation coefficient was applied to analyze and explore any possible links between the participants’ empathic abilities, communication competence, and attitudes.
To explore the factors that influence participants’ attitudes toward the disabled, a multiple linear regression analysis was conducted. Students’ attitudes toward the disabled were considered the dependent variable, whereas the independent variables included the participants’ satisfaction in their major, perspective-taking abilities, imagination, interest in empathy, personal distress, and communication competence. The variables included in the analysis were sub-elements of empathic abilities and had a p < 0.3 in the univariate analysis.
Results: The data were analyzed with the 21st edition of the Statistical Package for the SPSS software. The participants’ score was 3.63 points for empathic abilities, 3.69 points for communication competence, and 3.54 points for attitudes toward the disabled. The analyses further indicated a significant positive correlation between empathic abilities and attitudes toward the disabled. With regard to the sub-elements of empathic abilities, the participants’ attitudes toward the disabled had a significant positive correlation with the scales measuring their perspective-taking abilities and their personal distress (p<.05). Furthermore, the analyses indicated a noteworthy positive correlation (p<.05) between communication competence and attitudes toward the disabled. In addition, multiple linear regression analyses confirmed that the students’ attitudes toward the disabled were significantly influenced by the scale measuring their perspective-taking abilities (B=.210). In other words, students with a higher perspective-taking ability displayed a more positive attitudes toward the disabled.
Conclusion: This study suggests that the ability of female students in dental hygiene to take perspective, which is associated with empathic abilities, positively influences their attitudes toward the disabled. In turn, a positive attitudes toward the disabled can contribute to improving the quality of their medical services. It is, therefore, crucial to explore ways in which the empathic abilities of those working with the disabled can be improved.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Ⅰ. 서론 1
• 1. 연구의 배경 및 필요성 1
• 2. 연구목적 3
• Ⅱ. 문헌고찰 4
• 1. 장애 인구 현황과 장애인의 구강보건 실태 4
• 2. 장애인의 건강권 및 의료접근성 5
• 3. 장애인의 구강건강관리 6
• 4. 공감능력 7
• 1) 공감능력의 정의 7
• 2) 보건의료 영역에서의 공감능력의 중요성 8
• 3) 공감능력에 관한 선행연구 9
• 5. 의사소통능력 10
• 1) 의사소통능력의 정의 10
• 2) 보건의료 영역에서의 의사소통능력의 중요성 10
• 3) 의사소통능력에 관한 선행연구 11
• 4) 공감능력과 의사소통능력간의 관계 12
• 6. 장애인에 대한 태도 13
• Ⅲ. 연구방법 15
• 1. 연구대상 15
• 2. 연구도구 15
• 3. 자료수집 방법 및 절차 18
• 4. 자료 분석 방법 19
• Ⅳ. 연구결과 20
• 1. 대상자의 일반적 특성 20
• 2. 대상자의 공감능력, 의사소통능력 그리고 장애인에 대한 태도 정도 22
• 3. 일반적 특성에 따른 공감능력, 의사소통능력 그리고 장애인에 대한 태도의 차이 24
• 1) 일반적 특성에 따른 공감능력의 차이 24
• 2) 일반적 특성에 따른 의사소통능력의 차이 26
• 3) 일반적 특성에 따른 장애인에 대한 태도의 차이 28
• 4. 공감능력, 의사소통능력 그리고 장애인에 대한 태도의 상관관계 30
• 1) 공감능력, 의사소통능력 그리고 장애인에 대한 태도의 상관관계 30
• 2) 공감능력 하위요소와 장애인에 대한 태도의 상관관계 31
• 5. 대상자의 공감능력 및 의사소통능력과 장애인에 대한 태도와의 연관성 32
• Ⅴ. 고찰 33
• Ⅵ. 요약 및 결론 37
• 참고문헌 39
• 부록 44