scholarly journals No feelings for me, no feelings for you: A meta-analysis on alexithymia and empathy in psychopathy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Burghart ◽  
Daniela Mier
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Emotional Awareness ◽  
Cognitive Empathy ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Sample Type ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Random Effects Models ◽  
Negative Relationships

Introduction: Psychopathy is characterized by extensive emotional impairments. However, the current empirical literature on empathy and emotional awareness in psychopathy provides heterogeneous results. Methods: Multiple random-effects models were performed on studies examining the association between psychopathy and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index as well as Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20. In total, 72 articles providing 716 effect sizes and representing 15,016 participants were included in the analyses. Furthermore, differences among psychopathy factors and the role of potential moderators were assessed. Results: We found negative relationships between psychopathy and empathy (r = -.31), empathic concern (r = -.29), perspective taking (r = -.22), and personal distress (r = -.14). In addition, our results yielded positive relationships between psychopathy and alexithymia (r = .21), difficulty describing feelings (r = .20), difficulty identifying feelings (r = .16), and externally-oriented thinking (r = .15). The results varied by psychopathy factors and were partly moderated by sample type (correctional/clinical vs. community) and gender.Conclusion: These findings contribute to a better understanding of impaired emotionality in psychopathy. We show that psychopathy is associated with profound deficits in affective and cognitive empathy, personal distress, and emotional awareness.

Gender Differences in Empathy During Adolescence: Does Emotional Self-Awareness Matter?

2021 ◽  
pp. 003329412097663
Author(s):  
Cristina Trentini ◽  
Renata Tambelli ◽  
Silvia Maiorani ◽  
Marco Lauriola
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Full Knowledge ◽  
Emotional Concern ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Tas 20

Empathy refers to the capacity to experience emotions similar to those observed or imagined in another person, with the full knowledge that the other person is the source of these emotions. Awareness of one's own emotional states is a prerequisite for self-other differentiation to develop. This study investigated gender differences in empathy during adolescence and tested whether emotional self-awareness explained these differences. Two-hundred-eleven adolescents (108 girls and 103 boys) between 14 and 19 years completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to assess empathy and emotional self-awareness, respectively. Overall, girls obtained higher scores than boys on IRI subscales like emotional concern, personal distress, and fantasy. Regarding emotional self-awareness, we found gender differences in TAS-20 scores, with girls reporting greater difficulty identifying feelings and less externally oriented thinking than boys. Difficulty identifying feelings explained the greatest personal distress experienced by girls. Lower externally oriented thinking accounted for girls’ greater emotional concern and fantasy. These findings offer an insight into the role of emotional self-awareness–which is essential for self-other differentiation–as an account for gender differences in empathic abilities during adolescence. In girls, difficulty identifying feelings can impair the ability to differentiate between ones’ and others’ emotions, leading them to experience self-focused and aversive responses when confronted with others’ suffering. Conversely, in boys, externally oriented thinking can mitigate personal distress when faced with others’ discomfort.

The Role of Culture in Affective Empathy: Cultural and Bicultural Differences

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 309-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winnie Chung ◽  
Sherilynn Chan ◽  
Tracy G. Cassels
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Health ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Affective Empathy ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Social Emotional

AbstractEmpathy is essential for healthy relationships and overall well-being. Affective empathy is the emotional response to others’ distress and can take two forms: personal distress or empathic concern. In Western cultures, high empathic concern and low personal distress have been implicated in increased prosocial behaviour (e.g., Eisenberg et al., 1989) and better emotion management and peer relations (e.g., Eisenberg and Fabes, 1998). Various factors have been examined with respect to affective empathy, but the role of culture has received little attention. Previous work suggests that children from East Asian cultures compared to those from Western cultures experience greater personal distress and less empathic concern (e.g., Trommsdorff, 1995), but no work has specifically examined these differences in adolescents or individuals who identify as ‘bicultural’. The current research examines cultural differences in affective empathy using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1980) in an adolescent and young adult sample (n=190) and examines how empathy relates to social-emotional health in bicultural individuals. Consistent with research on children, East Asian adolescents reported greater personal distress and less empathic concern than their Western counterparts. The bicultural individuals’ scores fell in between the East Asian and Western groups, but revealed significant differences from their ‘uni-cultural’ peers, demonstrating shared influences of community and family. Importantly, however, the relationship between affective empathy and social-emotional health in bicultural individuals was the same as for Western individuals. The current results provide an important first step in understanding the different cultural influences on empathic responding in a previously understudied population ‐ bicultural individuals.

scholarly journals Malicious Mind Readers? A Meta-Analysis on Machiavellianism and Cognitive and Affective Empathy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Blötner ◽  
Ricarda Steinmayr ◽  
Sebastian Bergold
Keyword(s):  
Personality Trait ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Empathy ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Affective Empathy ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Empathic Ability ◽  
And Performance ◽  
General Studies

This meta-analysis investigated how the antagonistic personality trait Machiavellianism (Mach) relates to cognitive and affective empathy. Due to the role of manipulation in Mach, previous research argued that Mach should go along with higher empathic ability but found negative effects very consistently. Thus, some scholars argued that individuals with high scores in Mach had empathic deficits. The current meta-analysis (70 studies, 76 samples, and 232 effect sizes) challenged both perspectives by investigating bivariate and multivariate relations between Mach, self-reported cognitive empathy, cognitive empathic skills, and affective empathy. Further, we tested if gender distributions, student samples, and different utilized Mach scales accounted for differences across studies (i.e., moderated those). Bivariate analyses revealed inverse correlations of Mach with all facets of empathy (ρs from -.10 to -.36). The relations with self-reported and performance-based cognitive empathy almost dissolved when controlling for affective empathy. Neither of the proposed moderators significantly explained differences across studies. In general, studies with a high percentage of men and those comprising non-students revealed more diverse correlations than studies with a large proportion of women and studies that exclusively recruited students. The results suggest low affective empathy in Mach but contradict both the empathic deficits- and the “skilled mind reader”-perspectives.

scholarly journals Surgery plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in primary intestinal lymphoma: a meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (11) ◽  
pp. 030006052110568
Author(s):  
Yefei Shu ◽  
Xiaofeng Xu ◽  
Wei Yang ◽  
Ling Xu
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Progression Free Survival ◽  
Intestinal Lymphoma ◽  
Free Survival ◽  
Random Effects Models ◽  
Systemic Treatments ◽  
Intestinal Lymphomas

Objective Primary intestinal lymphomas (PILs) are uncommon tumors, but their incidence is increasing. Currently, their management is centered around systemic treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, whereas surgery is restricted to selected indications. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the role of surgery in PIL treatment. Methods We collected publications comparing surgery plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in patients with PIL from 2000 to 2021. All trials analyzed the summary odds ratios (ORs) of endpoints, including the 5-year overall survival (OS), 3-year OS, and 3-year progression-free survival rates. Combined pooled ORs were analyzed using fixed- or random-effects models according to heterogeneity. Results Six studies were included. Compared with chemotherapy alone, surgery plus chemotherapy was associated with significantly higher 5-year OS [OR = 4.88, 95%confidence interval (CI) = 1.91–12.44, Z = 3.32], 3-year OS (OR = 3.83, 95%CI = 2.33–6.30, Z = 5.30), and 3-year progression-free survival (OR = 3.51, 95%CI = 2.20–5.58, Z = 5.29). Conclusions Surgery plus chemotherapy was associated with better outcomes than chemotherapy alone, especially in the early stages. Therefore, surgery plus chemotherapy may be the preferred strategy for appropriately selected patients with PIL. The protocol for this systematic review was registered at INPLASY (INPLASY202180102) and is available in full ( https: //doi.org/10.37766/inplasy2021.8.0102 ).

scholarly journals Multidimensional Perfectionism and Burnout: A Meta-Analysis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Curran
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Or Education ◽  
Random Effects Models ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Negative Relationships ◽  
Work Domain

A meta-analysis of research examining the relationships between multidimensional perfectionism and burnout is provided. In doing so, relationships before and after controlling for the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism were examined along with whether relationships were moderated by domain (work, sport, or education). A literature search yielded 43 studies (N = 9,838) and 663 effect sizes. Meta-analysis using random-effects models revealed that perfectionistic strivings had small negative or non-significant relationships with overall burnout and symptoms of burnout. By contrast, perfectionistic concerns displayed medium-to-large and medium positive relationships with overall burnout and symptoms of burnout. After controlling for the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism, "pure" perfectionistic strivings displayed notably larger negative relationships. In terms of moderation, in some cases, perfectionistic strivings were less adaptive and perfectionistic concerns more maladaptive in the work domain. Future research should examine explanatory mechanisms, adopt longitudinal designs, and develop interventions to reduce perfectionistic concerns fueled burnout.

scholarly journals Social Anxiety and Empathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merle-Marie Pittelkow ◽  
Marije aan het Rot ◽  
Lea Jasmin Seidel ◽  
Nils Feyel ◽  
Annelieke Roest
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Cognitive Empathy ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Sample Type ◽  
Socially Anxious

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to clarify the association between social anxiety and affective (AE) and cognitive empathy (CE). Methods: 1442 studies from PsycINFO, Medline, and EMBASE (inception-January 2020) were systematically reviewed. Included studies (N = 48) either predicted variance in empathy using social anxiety scores or compared empathy scores between socially anxious individuals and a control group. Results: Social anxiety and AE were statistically significantly positively associated, k = 14, r= .103 (95%CI [.003, .203]), z =2.03, p =.043. Sex (QM (2) = 18.79, p< .0001), and type of measures (QM (1 = 7.34, p =.007) moderated the association. Correlations were significant for male samples (rmale= .316, (95%CI [.200, .432])) and studies using self-report measures (rself-report = .162 (95%CI [.070, .254])). Overall, social anxiety and CE were not significantly associated, k=52, r =-.021 (95%CI [-.075, .034]), z= -0.74, p = .459. Sample type moderated the association (QM (1)= 5.03, p <.0001). For clinical samples the association was negative (rclinical= -.112, (95%CI [-.201, -.017]). Conclusion: There was evidence for a positive association between social anxiety and AE, but future studies are needed to verify the moderating roles of sex and type of measure. Besides, low CE might only hold for patients with SAD.

scholarly journals Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of ABO blood group on the risk of COVID-19 infection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Balaouras ◽  
Paolo Eusebi ◽  
Polychronis Kostoulas
Keyword(s):  
Blood Group ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Blood Groups ◽  
Abo Blood Group ◽  
Random Effects Models ◽  
Rhesus Factor ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Potential Risk Factors ◽  
The Relationship

We have been experiencing a global pandemic with baleful consequences for mankind, since the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first identified in Wuhan of China, in December 2019.  So far, several potential risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection have been identified. Among them, the role of ABO blood group polymorphisms has been studied with results that are still unclear. The aim of this study was to collect and meta-analyze available studies on the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and different blood groups, as well as Rhesus state. We performed a systematic search on PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus databases for published articles and preprints. Twenty-two studies, after the removal of duplicates, met the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis with ten of them also including information on Rhesus factor. The odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for the extracted data. Random-effects models were used to obtain the overall pooled ORs. Publication bias and sensitivity analysis were also performed. Our results indicate that blood groups A, B and AB have a higher risk for COVID-19 infection compared to blood group O, which appears to have a protective effect. An association between Rhesus state and COVID-19 infection could not be estabished.

scholarly journals Work Experiences and Self-Esteem Development: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies

2021 ◽  
pp. 089020702110271
Author(s):  
Samantha Krauss ◽  
Ulrich Orth
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Longitudinal Studies ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Sample Type ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Random Effects Models ◽  
Point Estimates

Theory suggests that people’s work experiences influence their self-esteem and, vice versa, that self-esteem influences work experiences. This meta-analysis of longitudinal studies synthesizes the available evidence on prospective effects between work experiences and self-esteem, controlling for prior levels of the outcomes. The following work variables were examined: job satisfaction, job success, income, job resources, job stressors, and employment status. The analyses were based on 30 independent samples, including data from 53,112 participants. Mean age ranged from 17 to 64 years, spanning most of the work life. For each work variable, we computed random-effects models with standardized regression coefficients as effect size measure. Results suggested reciprocal effects between work experiences and self-esteem. The effects of self-esteem on later work experiences (point estimates ranged from .05 to .10) were slightly larger than the effects of work experiences on later self-esteem (point estimates ranged from .02 to .05). Moderator analyses on the relation between job satisfaction and self-esteem indicated that the effects did not differ across age, gender, sample type, and time lag. Overall, the findings support the corresponsive principle of personality development and suggest that the work domain and people’s self-esteem are interdependent.

scholarly journals Alexithymia Affects Pre-Hospital Delay of Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction: Meta-Analysis of Existing Studies

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Preti ◽  
Federica Sancassiani ◽  
Federica Cadoni ◽  
Mauro Giovanni Carta
Keyword(s):  
Myocardial Infarction ◽  
Acute Myocardial Infarction ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Emotional Awareness ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Critical Determinant ◽  
Seeking Help ◽  
Patient’S Outcome

Background: The time between the onset of symptoms and reperfusion is a critical determinant of the clinical course of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Any delay in seeking help will affect patient’s outcome. Alexithymia can influence the information processing but also the skills to detect the signal of an ongoing AMI. Method: Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies investigating the role of alexithymia in pre-hospital delay after AMI. Pubmed/Medline and PsychINFO/Ovid search from 1990 until 2012. Results: Out of 29 studies investigating the role of psychological factors in pre-hospital delay after AMI, 3 studies specifically assessed alexithymia, involving 258 patients. All studies used the Toronto Alexithymia Scale to group patients into clusters by time to presentation after AMI. Meta-analysis of data showed that the patients with higher emotional awareness (i.e., low alexithymia) had shorter time to presentation after AMI. Conclusions: Preliminary evidence indicates that alexithymia may have a role in seeking help delay after AMI. Further studies are necessary to better appreciate how alexithymia influence help-seeking in patients with an evolving AMI and in what extent their ineffective behavior can be changed.

scholarly journals Preeclamptic Women Have Decreased Circulating IL-10 (Interleukin-10) Values at the Time of Preeclampsia Diagnosis

Hypertension ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (6) ◽  
pp. 1817-1827
Author(s):  
Meryl C. Nath ◽  
Hajrunisa Cubro ◽  
Daniel J. McCormick ◽  
Natasa M. Milic ◽  
Vesna D. Garovic
Keyword(s):  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Interleukin 10 ◽  
Hypertensive Disorder ◽  
Sample Type ◽  
Measurement Methodology ◽  
Mean Differences ◽  
Active Disease ◽  
Multiplex Bead

A key immunomodulatory cytokine, IL-10 (interleukin-10), has been shown to be dysregulated in preeclampsia, a pregnancy-specific hypertensive disorder, further characterized by multi-system involvement. However, studies have reported inconsistent findings about circulating IL-10 levels in preeclamptic versus normotensive pregnancies. The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess circulating IL-10 levels in preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies at 2 time points: before, and at the time of preeclampsia diagnosis. PubMED, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were searched to include all published studies examining circulating IL-10 levels in preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies. Differences in IL-10 levels were evaluated by standardized mean differences. Of 876 abstracts screened, 56 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Circulating IL-10 levels were not different before the time of active disease (standardized mean differences, −0.01 [95% CI, −0.11 to 0.08]; P =0.76). At the time of active disease, women with preeclampsia (n=1599) had significantly lower IL-10 levels compared with normotensive controls (n=1998; standardized mean differences, −0.79 [95% CI, −1.22 to −0.35]; P =0.0004). IL-10 levels were lower in both early/severe and late/mild forms of preeclampsia. Subgroup analysis revealed that IL-10 measurement methodology (ELISA or multiplex bead array) and the sample type (plasma or serum) significantly influenced the observed differences, with the use of sera paired with ELISA technology providing the best distinction in IL-10 levels between preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies. These findings support the role of decreased IL-10 levels in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. Future studies should address the therapeutic potential of IL-10 in preeclampsia.

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