The Relationships between Moral Self-Concept, Ethical Sensitivity, and Empathy in College Students*

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between moral self-concept (MSC), ethical sensitivity (ES), and empathy in college students in South Korea. This study was a descriptive investigation using a structured questionnaire administered to 625 college students in one city in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. The data were analyzed by means of a canonical correlation analysis using PASW Statistics 18.0. The mean score for MSC was 3.11±0.34; ES and empathy were 3.92±0.53, 3.59±0.38, respectively. The complicated correlations between MSC, ES, and empathy were identified. The canonical variate indicated that the subjects had lower “moral self-identification,” “moral self-acceptance,” “moral self-action” ; and “ES” showed lower “perspective taking,” “do imagine,” and “empathic concern.” The results of this study indicate that there is a need for educational strategies to nurture MSC, ES, and empathy in Korean college students.