The relationship between oxytocin levels with empathy and breastfeeding intention in female medical students: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Scientific evidence regarding the relationship of oxytocin to social and emotional behavior is consistently reported. This study aims to analyze the relationship between empathy and breastfeeding intention with oxytocin levels in medical students. A cross-sectional study of 59 female students at the Faculty of Medicine and Health, Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta in April 2018–June 2019 selected by purposive sampling technique. The measurement of empathy level using the ©Jafferson Emphatic Scale Student Version (JES-SV) questionnaire, breastfeeding intention using the Infant Feeding Intentions (IFI) questionnaire, and oxytocin levels using the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Analysis of the relationship between oxytocin levels with empathy and breastfeeding intention used the independent samples t-test. The results showed that students' age (p = 0.030) and education stage (p = 0.036) were related to empathy. Age (p = 0.001) and education stage (p = 0.004) of students were also associated with serum oxytocin levels respectively. Empathy was significantly related to breastfeeding intention (p = 0.033). Oxytocin serum levels of female medical students are associated with empathy (p = 0.016) and breastfeeding intention (p= <0.001). Further studies on the role of oxytocin on empathy and breastfeeding intention need to include other factors to obtain more comprehensive information. Empathy and breastfeeding intention was not only associated with oxytocin levels. Psychological or educational interventions during the learning process at the academic and professional levels are also needed to support the process of forming these two social aspects.