scholarly journals Reference values regarding measure of Basic Empathy Scale in forensic adolescents

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreia Alexandra Cunha Azeredo ◽  
Patricia Figueiredo ◽  
Eduarda Ramião ◽  
Diana Moreira ◽  
Ricardo Barroso ◽  
...  

Empathy has revealed a fundamental role in fostering prosocial and altruistic behavior. Conversely, empathic dysfunction has been associated with antisocial behavior (ASB). The Basic Empathy Scale (BES) has been the most used instrument to measure empathy in studies with children and adolescents in forensic settings. Thus, we conducted a systematic review in order to establish reference values for BES in children and adolescents with conduct disorder/antisocial behavior (CD/ASB) and typical controls. Studies related to the topic were obtained from multiple databases (e.g., EBSCO, PubMed, Web of Science), through rigorous exclusion and inclusion criteria. Only papers with empirical and quantitative methodologies from scientific and academic publications were included. A total of 311 studies were identified through database searches and 15 articles were retained for this review. The findings reveal lower empathy scores in children and adolescents with CD/AB (pooled mean for the total scale = 52.32; mean for cognitive empathy = 30.86; pooled mean for affective empathy = 28.83) than controls (pooled mean for the total scale = 67.20; pooled mean for cognitive empathy = 34.04; pooled mean for affective empathy = 32.30). This review provides reference values that can be useful for the application of the BES and the interpretation of its results, both in clinical practice and in future research with children and adolescents.

Author(s):  
Iván Suazo ◽  
María del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes ◽  
María del Mar Molero Jurado ◽  
África Martos Martínez ◽  
María del Mar Simón Márquez ◽  
...  

Humanization of nursing is related to certain social and moral variables. Moral sensitivity, empathy, and prosocial behavior help understand a situation and make decisions that benefit the patient. The objective of this study is to find out how these variables are related, and define the differences in moral sensitivity, empathy, and prosocial behavior in humanization of nursing. We also analyzed the mediating role of empathy in the relationship between moral sensitivity and prosocial behavior. The sample was made up of 330 Spanish nurses aged 22 to 56, who completed the HUMAS Scale and adapted versions of the Basic Empathy Scale, the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire, and the Prosocial Behavior Scale. Descriptive analyses, bivariate correlations and multiple mediation models were calculated. The results found significantly different mean scores between all the groups in responsibility and moral strength, cognitive empathy, and prosocial behavior, and in moral burden, the differences were in the high-humanization-score group compared to the low-score group. Furthermore, the mediation models showed the mediating effect of cognitive empathy between the responsibility, strength, and moral burden factors on prosocial behavior, but not of affective empathy. The study concluded that humanization in nursing is closely related to moral sensitivity, cognitive empathy, and prosocial behavior. This facilitates a helping, caring, and understanding attitude toward patient needs, but without the affective flooding that affective empathy can lead to.


2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Reniers ◽  
R. Corcoran ◽  
R. Drake ◽  
N. Shryane ◽  
B. Völlm

Aims/objectives:A lack of empathy is associated with callous-unemotional behaviour, violence, aggression, criminality, and problems in social interaction. Empathy is, though, inconsistently defined and inadequately measured. We therefore set out to produce a new and rigorously developed empathy questionnaire that would have clinical and public-health relevance.Methods:Sixty-five questions, themed around cognitive empathy (the ability to construct a working model of the emotional states of others) and affective empathy (the ability to be sensitive to and vicariously experience the feelings of others), were administered to two independent samples of healthy volunteers (N1=640, N2=383), which were used to explore and validate the factor structure.Results:Principal components analysis revealed five factors from thirty-seven items. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed this structure. The hypothesised two-factor structure (cognitive and affective empathy) was tested by adding two second order factors, indicated by the five first-order factors, and provided the best and most parsimonious fit to the data (CFI=0.961, RMSEA=0.048). Cognitive Empathy encompassed Perspective Taking and Online Simulation; Affective Empathy encompassed Emotional Responsivity, Peripheral Responsivity and Emotional Contagion. Females scored significantly higher than males on Affective Empathy but not on Cognitive Empathy. The factors correlated significantly with measures of empathic anger, impulsivity, aggression, psychopathy, Machiavellianism and empathy as measured by the Basic Empathy Scale.Conclusions:The QCAE measures the distinct and specific components that make up cognitive and affective empathy. The factor structure was confirmed in independent samples and represents a valid tool for assessing cognitive and affective empathy and its subcomponents.


The Physician ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Nandini Chakraborty ◽  
Harry Mehmet ◽  
Traolach Brugha

Alexithymia and empathy are functional concepts surrounding human emotions.This study aimed to estimate the association between alexithymia and empathy within a neurotypical population. The study was a cross sectional survey conducted within a non-clinical population of medical students  at a University in England using voluntary sampling to  complete the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), Basic Empathy Scale (BES), General Health Questionnaire- 12.   Alexithymia and empathy scores did not show a statistically significant correlation. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between total alexithymia and cognitive empathy scores (correlation co-efficient was -0.184, p value was 0.013). Men and women differed significantly on empathy scores with women showing significantly higher empathy. The relationship between the understanding of one’s own emotions and the interpretation of others’ emotions are different functions with a more complex interaction than a simple linear correlation. Future research should focus on further exploring the differences between cognitive and affective empathy.  


Author(s):  
Izabela Zych ◽  
David P. Farrington ◽  
Elena Nasaescu ◽  
Darrick Jolliffe ◽  
Estera Twardowska-Staszek

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poline Simon ◽  
Nathalie Nader-Grosbois

Preschoolers face new challenges in their social life: the development of social and emotional abilities in order to have positive relationships with peers and adults. Empathy, the ability to share and understand the emotions of others, contributes to this socio-emotional adjustment. This exploratory study examines mothers and fathers' perceptions of their child's empathy and individual factors, such as age, gender, and personality, which are related to cognitive and affective empathy in 63 typically developing preschoolers. Links between children's individual characteristics (empathy and personality) and their social adjustment on the one hand and risk of developing internalized vs. externalized behaviors on the other were also investigated. Parents completed four questionnaires about their child's empathy, personality, and social (mal)adjustment. The results showed that mothers and fathers perceived their children's cognitive and affective empathy, attention to others' feelings, and social actions (such as helping), in the same way, except for emotion contagion. Gender differences appeared specifically for some components of empathy: girls were said to pay more attention to others' emotions while boys had better cognitive empathy. Moreover, children's empathy as perceived by mothers or fathers was positively linked with their age, and with personality factors (extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, and openness to experience). Cognitive empathy and personality were found to be partly related to higher social skills and lower externalized and internalized behaviors. The results nuanced specific links between cognitive and affective empathy and social adjustment as well as behavior problems at preschool age. These results may have some implications for future research and prevention in childhood.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S82-S82
Author(s):  
M. Balážová ◽  
I. Gallová ◽  
J. Praško ◽  
M. Šlepecký ◽  
A. Kotianová

IntroductionAt the present time, adolescents are in particular vulnerable to feelings of loneliness. They are gradually emancipating from their family and establish relationships with peers. Among the important predictors of loneliness belong genetic and personal variables and factors of social environment.Objectives and aimsTo examine predictors of adolescents’ loneliness which are located in family environment. To find out how empathy, emotional relationship and control by both of parents contribute to loneliness of adolescent boys and girls.MethodsWe examined 206 adolescents in the age from 10 to 18 years through Basic Empathy Scale, Parenting Style Scale and UCLA Loneliness Scale. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was used for data analysis.ResultsThe significant predictors of boys’ loneliness in family environment are emotional relationship of mother and affective empathy of father. The significant predictors of girls’ loneliness include emotional relationship and cognitive empathy of father. Parental control is not a significant predictor of adolescents’ loneliness.ConclusionAdolescents’ loneliness is largely influenced by factors of family environment. Our study highlights the role of emotional relationship provided by the opposite sex parent. Cold behavior of the opposite sex parent could reduce self-esteem and self-confidence of adolescents. Both could help them establish relationships with peers and people outside family, thus protecting them against loneliness. A significant predictor of boys’ and girls’ loneliness is also empathy of father. We recommend to make use of our findings in clinical practice with adolescents, in family therapy as well as in context of attachment.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-166
Author(s):  
Caitlin Charlotte Halfpenny ◽  
Lucy Amelia James

Humor is a complex phenomenon. For one individual a joke may be perceived as comical, yet for another, the same joke may be deemed completely inappropriate. The appropriate use of humor is perhaps dependent on how a humorist relates to, understands and can empathize with their audience. Thus, the present research aimed to determine whether empathy is related to junior-school children’s use of different humor styles. It has been proposed that four styles of humor exist, two of which are thought to be adaptive (affiliative and self-enhancing) and two of which are thought to be maladaptive (aggressive and self-defeating). However, research exploring the role of humor styles in younger children’s development has been limited. To investigate this the Humor Styles Questionnaire for young children (HSQ-Y) and the Thinking and Feeling Questionnaire were administered to 214 UK children aged 9-11 years old. Correlational analyses revealed that self-enhancing humor is associated with cognitive empathy, affective empathy and sympathy, affiliative humor is positively associated with cognitive empathy specifically and aggressive humor is negatively associated with affective empathy and sympathy. Possible explanations for these associations are explored, with a consideration of the direction for future research in this predominantly unexplored field of study.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Chen ◽  
Guangbo Dou ◽  
Liang Chen

This study aimed to revise the Chinese version of the Basic Empathy Scale for college students. The cluster random sampling method was used to select 805 college students from two universities to conduct confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, reliability analysis, and an independent samples t-test. The confirmatory factor analysis model illustrated that the two-factor model failed to fit the data, and the two-factor model with methodological effect was finally accepted. Therefore, the questionnaire exhibits a strong methodological effect among Chinese college students which requires further study. Emotional and cognitive empathy had a significant positive correlation with gratitude and Internet altruism behavior, which showed good convergent validity. The gender difference test revealed that the emotional empathy level of girls was significantly higher than that of boys. The revised Basic Empathy Scale showed acceptable reliability and validity.


Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 596
Author(s):  
Pamela Fantozzi ◽  
Pietro Muratori ◽  
Maria Celeste Caponi ◽  
Valentina Levantini ◽  
Cristina Nardoni ◽  
...  

Background: Beside the core symptoms, patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently show relevant difficulty in developing relationships with peers. Although ADHD symptoms may account for social impairment, deficits in cognitive and/or affective empathy have also been involved. Our aim was to investigate the effect of methylphenidate (MPH) treatment on affective and cognitive empathy. Methods: Sixty-one drug-naïve youths with ADHD (age range 6 to 17 years, mean 10.3 ± 2.8 years, 51 males) naturalistically treated with MPH monotherapy were followed up for 6 months for ADHD symptoms and empathy, measured with the Basic Empathy Scale. Results: After being treated with MPH, the patients showed a significant improvement in affective and cognitive empathy scores. Linear regression models showed that changes in inattention symptoms predicted changes in affective but not in cognitive empathy, while changes in the hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms did not predict changes in affective or cognitive empathy. Conclusions: Our study provides a further contribution for a better understanding of the possible effects of the MPH on youth’s characteristics.


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