Skip to main content
Search
Search
    Quick Search anywhere
    Quick search in Citations
Advanced Search
Skip main navigationClose Drawer MenuOpen Drawer Menu
Previous article
Next article
Original Article

Early Adolescent Cognitive and Affective Empathy

Associations With Social–Emotional Adjustment

Published Online:December 21, 2022https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000499

Abstract

Abstract. Cognitive and affective empathy have diverging relations to social–emotional adjustment. However, particularly during adolescence, these associations are not thoroughly understood. Using the Basic Empathy Scale (BES), we examined cognitive and affective empathy (including emotional contagion and emotional disconnection) in association with social–emotional adjustment (negative affect, shyness, social self-efficacy, friendship quality, and peer victimization) in early adolescents (N = 321). Cognitive empathy and emotional contagion showed divergent links (cognitive empathy was related to positive adjustment, while emotional contagion was related to negative adjustment but also higher friendship quality). Emotional disconnection was negatively associated with social self-efficacy, supporting affective empathy as having multiple factors itself. The findings further validate the BES as a three-factor measure and have implications for understanding social–emotional adjustment in youth.

References

  • Auyeung, K. W., & Alden, L. E. (2016). Social anxiety and empathy for social pain. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 40(1), 38–45. 10.1007/s10608-015-9718-0 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Barhight, L. R., Hubbard, J. A., & Hyde, C. T. (2013). Children's physiological and emotional reactions to witnessing bullying predict bystander intervention. Child Development, 84(1), 375–390. 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01839.x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Batson, C. D., & Ahmad, N. Y. (2009). Using empathy to improve intergroup attitudes and relations. Social Issues and Policy Review, 3(1), 141–177. 10.1111/j.1751-2409.2009.01013.x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Belacchi, C., & Farina, E. (2012). Feeling and thinking of others: Affective and cognitive empathy and emotion comprehension in prosocial hostile preschoolers. Aggressive Behavior, 38(2), 150–165. 10.1002/ab.21415 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Bensalah, L., Stefaniak, N., Carre, A., & Besche-Richard, C. (2016). The Basic Empathy Scale adapted to French middle childhood: Structure and development of empathy. Behavior Research Methods, 48(4), 1410–1420. 10.3758/s13428-015-0650-8 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Bernstein, W. M., & Davis, M. H. (1982). Perspective-taking, self-consciousness, and accuracy in person perception. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 3(1), 1–19. 10.1207/s15324834basp0301_1 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Brown, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. BollenJ. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Sage. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Bukowski, W. M., Hoza, B., & Boivin, M. (1994). Measuring friendship quality during pre and early adolescence: The development and psychometric properties of the friendship qualities scale. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11(3), 471–484. 10.1177/0265407594113011 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Burnett, S., Thompson, S., Bird, G., & Blakemore, S. J. (2011). Pubertal development of the understanding of social emotions: Implications for education. Learning and Individual Differences, 21(6), 681–689. 10.1016/j.lindif.2010.05.007 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Caravita, S., Di Blasio, P., & Salmivalli, C. (2010). Early adolescents’ participation in bullying: Is ToM involved? The Journal of Early Adolescence, 30(1), 138–170. 10.1177/0272431609342983 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Carré, A., Stefaniak, N., D’Ambrosio, F., Bensalah, L., & Besche-Richard, C. (2013). The Basic Empathy Scale in Adults (BES-A): Factor structure of a revised form. Psychological Assessment, 25(3), 679. 10.1037/a0032297 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Cheek, J. M., & Buss, A. H. (1981). Shyness and sociability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41(2), 330–339. 10.1037/0022-3514.41.2.330 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Chow, C., Ruhl, H., & Buhrmester, D. (2013). The mediating role of interpersonal competence between adolescents’ empathy and friendship quality: A dyadic approach. Journal of Adolescence, 36(1), 191–200. 10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.10.004 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Ciucci, E., & Baroncelli, A. (2013). The emotional core of bullying: Further evidences of the role of callous-unemotional traits and empathy. Personality and Individual Differences. Advance online publication. 10.1016/j.paid.2013.09.033 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Coleman, P. K., & Byrd, C. P. (2003). Interpersonal correlates of peer victimization among young adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32(4), 301–314. 10.1023/A:1023089028374 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Correia, 1., & Dalbert, C. (2008). School bullying: Belief in a personal just world of bullies, victims, and defenders. European Psychologist, 13(4), 248–254. 10.1027/1016-9040.13.4.248 First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Craig, W. M. (1998). The relationship among bullying, victimization, depression, anxiety, and aggression in elementary school children. Personality and Individual Differences, 24(1), 123–130. 10.1016/S0191-8869(97)00145-1 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Crick, N. R., & Grotpeter, J. K. (1996). Children's treatment by peers: Victims of relational and overt aggression. Development and Psychopathology, 8(02), 367–380. 10.1017/S0954579400007148 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Davis, M. H., Hull, J. G., Young, R. D., & Warren, G. G. (1987). Emotional reactions to dramatic film stimuli: The influence of cognitive and emotional empathy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(1), 126. 10.1037/0022-3514.52.1.126 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(1), 113. 10.1037/0022-3514.44.1.113 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • de Waal, F. B. M. (2008). Putting the altruism back into altruism: The evolution of empathy. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 279–300. 10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093625 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • de Wied, M., Branje, S. J. T., & Meeus, W. H. J. (2007). Empathy and conflict resolution in friendship relation among adolescents. Aggressive Behavior, 33(1), 48–55. 10.1002/ab.20166 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Decety, J., & Cowell, J. M. (2014). Friends or foes: Is empathy necessary for moral behavior? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9(5), 525–537. 10.1177/1745691614545130 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Decety, J., & Moriguchi, Y. (2007). The empathic brain and its dysfunction in psychiatric populations: Implications for intervention across different clinical conditions. BioPsychoSocial Medicine, 1(1), 1–21. 10.1186/1751-0759-1-22 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Decety, J., & Svetlova, M. (2012). Putting together phylogenetic and ontogenetic perspectives on empathy. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2(1), 1–24. 10.1016/j.dcn.2011.05.003 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Decety, J. (2010). The neurodevelopment of empathy in humans. Developmental Neuroscience, 32(4), 257–267. 10.1159/000317771 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Decety, J. (2011). The neuroevolution of empathy. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1231(1), 35–45. 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06027 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Dillon-Owens, C., Findley-Van Nostrand, D., Ojaneen, T., & Buchholz, C. (2022). Cognitive and affective empathy in adolescence: Ties to social-emotional adjustment. https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology/research_and_internships/undergraduate_research/dr_findley-van_nostrands_research_lab/data_and_materials_for_empathy_paper First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., & Spinrad, T. L. (2006). Prosocial development. In N. EisenbergW. DamonR. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Social, emotional, and personality development (pp. 646–718). John Wiley. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Eisenberg, N., & Miller, P. A. (1987). The relation of empathy to prosocial and related behaviors. Psychological Bulletin, 101(1), 91. 10.1037/0033-2909.101.1.91 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Findlay, L. C., Girardi, A., & Coplan, R. J. (2006). Links between empathy, social behavior, and social understanding in early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21(3), 347–359. 10.1016/j.ecresq.2006.07.009 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Galinsky, A. D., Ku, G., & Wang, C. S. (2005). Perspective-taking and self-other overlap: Fostering social bonds and facilitating social coordination. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 8(2), 109–124. 10.1177/1368430205051060 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Gambin, M., & Sharp, C. (2016). The differential relations between empathy and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in inpatient adolescents. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 47(6), 966–974. 10.1007/s10578-016-0625-8 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Gambin, M., & Sharp, C. (2018). Relations between empathy and anxiety dimensions in inpatient adolescents. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 31(4), 447–458. 10.1080/10615806.2018.1475868 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Gerdes, K. E., Segal, E. A., Jackson, K. F., & Mullins, J. L. (2011). Teaching empathy: A framework rooted in social cognitive neuroscience and social justice. Journal of Social Work Education, 47(1), 109–131. 10.5175/JSWE.2011.200900085 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Gleason, K. A., Jensen-Campbell, L. A., & Ickes, W. (2009). The role of empathic accuracy in adolescents’ peer relations and adjustment. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(8), 997–1011. 10.1177/0146167209336605 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Gyurak, A., Goodkind, M. S., Kramer, J. H., Miller, B. L., & Levenson, R. W. (2012). Executive functions and the down-regulation and up-regulation of emotion. Cognition and Emotion, 26(1), 103–118. 10.1080/02699931.2011.557291 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Harter, S. (1999). The construction of the self: A developmental perspective. Guilford Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Herrera-López, M., Gómez-Ortiz, O., Ortega-Ruiz, R., Jolliffe, D., & Romera, E. M. (2017). Suitability of a three-dimensional model to measure empathy and its relationship with social and normative adjustment in Spanish adolescents: A cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 7(9), e015347. 10.1136/ bmjopen-2016-015347 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. 10.1080/10705519909540118 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Huang, H., & Su, Y. (2014). Peer acceptance among Chinese adolescents: The role of emotional empathy, cognitive empathy and gender. International Journal of Psychology, 49(5), 420–424. 10.1002/ijop.12075 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2006a). Development and validation of the Basic Empathy Scale. Journal of Adolescence, 29(4), 589–611. 10.1016/j.adolescence.2005.08.010 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2006b). Examining the relationship between low empathy and bullying. Aggressive Behavior, 32(6), 540–550. 10.1002/ab.20154 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Kokkinos, C. M., & Kipritsi, E. (2012). The relationship between bullying, victimization, trait emotional intelligence, self-efficacy and empathy among preadolescents. Social psychology of education, 15(1), 41–58. 10.1007/s11218-011-9168-9 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lamm, C., Batson, C. D., & Decety, J. (2007). The neural substrate of human empathy: Effects of perspective-taking and cognitive appraisal. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19(1), 42–58. 10.1162/jocn.2007.19.1.42 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lee, H. S., Brennan, P. F., & Daly, B. (2001). Relationship of empathy to appraisal, depression, life satisfaction, and physical health in informal caregivers of older adults. Research in Nursing and Health, 24(1), 44–56. 10.1002/1098-240X(200102)24:1<44::AID-NUR1006>3.0.CO;2-S First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lovett, B. J., & Sheffield, R. A. (2007). Affective empathy deficits in aggressive children and adolescents: A critical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 27(1), 1–13. 10.1016/j.cpr.2006.03.003 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Ma, C., Ma, Y., Wang, Y., & Lan, X. (2019). Empathy and psychosocial adjustment in Tibetan and Han adolescents: A person-centered approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1896. 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01896 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Malti, T., Perren, S., & Buchmann, M. (2010). Children’s peer victimization, empathy, and emotional symptoms. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 41(1), 98–113. 10.1007/s10578-009-0155-8 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Morrison, A. S., Mateen, M. A., Brozovich, F. A., Zaki, J., Golding, P. R., Heimberg, R. G., & Gross, J. J. (2016). Empathy for positive and negative emotions in social anxiety disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 87, 232–242. 10.1016/j.brat.2016.10.005 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Murphy, B. A., Costello, T. H., & Lilienfeld, S. O. (2018). Is empathic contagion helpful or harmful? Overlooked heterogeneity in the Empathy Index. Psychological Assessment, 30(12), 1703. 10.1037/pas0000641 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Parker, J. G., & Asher, S. R. (1987). Peer relations and later personal adjustment: Are low-accepted children at risk?. Psychological bulletin, 102(3), 357. 10.1037/0033-2909.102.3.357 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Patrick, H., Hicks, L., & Ryan, A. M. (1997). Relations of perceived social efficacy and social goal pursuit to self-efficacy for academic work. Journal of Early Adolescence, 17(2), 109–128. 10.1177/0272431697017002001 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Pecukonis, E. V. (1990). A cognitive/affective empathy training program as a function of ego development in aggressive adolescent females. Adolescence, 25(97), 59–76. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Poteat, V. P., & Espelage, D. L. (2005). Exploring the relation between bullying and homophobic verbal content: The Homophobic Content Agent Target (HCAT) Scale. Violence and Victims, 20(5), 513. 10.1891/088667005780927485 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Raskauskas, J. L., Gregory, J., Harvey, S. T., Rifshana, F., & Evans, I. M. (2010). Bullying among primary school children in New Zealand: Relationships with prosocial behaviour and classroom climate. Educational Research, 52(1), 1–13. 10.1080/00131881003588097 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Richardson, D. R., Hammock, G. S., Smith, S. M., Gardner, W., & Signo, M. (1994). Empathy as a cognitive inhibitor of interpersonal aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 20(4), 275–289. 10.1002/1098-2337(1994)20:4<275::AID-AB2480200402>3.0.CO;2-4 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Smith, V., Zaidman-Zait, A., & Hertzman, C. (2012). Promoting children’s prosocial behaviors in school: Impact of the “Roots of Empathy” program on the social and emotional competence of school-aged children. School Mental Health, 4(1), 1–21. 10.1007/s12310-011-9064-7 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schreiter, S., Pijnenborg, G. H. M., & Aan Het Rot, M. (2013). Empathy in adults with clinical or subclinical depressive symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders, 150(1), 1–16. 10.1016/j.jad.2013.03.009 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Silke, C., Brady, B., Boylan, C., & Dolan, P. (2018). Factors influencing the development of empathy and pro-social behaviour among adolescents: A systematic review. Children and Youth Services Review, 94, 421–436. 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.07.027 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Smith, R. L., & Rose, A. J. (2011). The “cost of caring” in youths' friendships: Considering associations among social perspective taking, co-rumination, and empathetic distress. Developmental Psychology, 47(6), 1792. 10.1037/a0025309 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Soenens, B., Duriez, B., Vansteenkiste, M., & Goossens, L. (2007). The intergenerational transmission of empathy-related responding in adolescence: The role of maternal support. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(3), 299–311. 10.1177/0146167206296300 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Sticca, F., Ruggieri, S., Alsaker, F., & Perren, S. (2013). Longitudinal risk factors for cyberbullying in adolescence. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 23(1), 52–67. 10.1002/casp.2136 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Stocks, E. L., Lishner, D. A., & Decker, S. K. (2009). Altruism or psychological escape: Why does empathy promote prosocial behavior?. European Journal of Social Psychology, 39(5), 649–665. 10.1002/ejsp.561 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Tone, E., & Tully, E. (2014). Empathy as a “risky strength”: A multilevel examination of empathy and risk for internalizing disorders. Developmental Psychopathlogy, 4(2), 1547–1565. 10.1017/S0954579414001199 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • van den Bedem, N. P., Willems, D., Dockrell, J. E., van Alphen, P. M., & Rieffe, C. (2019). Interrelation between empathy and friendship development during (pre) adolescence and the moderating effect of developmental language disorder: A longitudinal study. Social Development, 28(3), 599–619. 10.1111/sode.12353 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • van Lissa, C. J., Hawk, S. T., Branje, S., Koot, H. M., & Meeus, W. H. (2016). Common and unique associations of adolescents' affective and cognitive empathy development with conflict behavior towards parents. Journal of Adolescence, 47, 60–70. 10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.12.005 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • van Lissa, C. J., Hawk, S. T., Koot, H. M., Branje, S., & Meeus, W. H. J. (2017). The cost of empathy: Parent–adolescent conflict predicts emotion dysregulation for highly empathic youth. Developmental Psychology, 53(9), 1722–1737. 10.1037/dev0000361 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • van Noorden, T. H., Bukowski, W. M., Haselager, G. J., Lansu, T. A., & Cillessen, A. H. (2015). Disentangling the frequency and severity of bullying and victimization in the association with empathy. Social Development, 25(1):176–192. 10.1111/sode.12133 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • van Noorden, T. H. J., Haselager, G. J. T., Cillessen, A. H. N., & Bukowski, W. M. (2014). Empathy and involvement in bullying in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(3):637-657. 10.1007/s10964-014-0135-6 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Vezzali, L., Capozza, D., Stathi, S., & Giovannini, D. (2012). Increasing outgroup trust, reducing infrahumanization, and enhancing future contact intentions via imagined intergroup contact. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(1), 437–440. 10.1016/j.jesp.2011.09.008 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Wai, M., & Tiliopoulos, N. (2012). The affective and cognitive empathic nature of the dark triad of personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(7), 794–799. 10.1016/j.paid.2012.01.008 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar