Leiden University Student Repository

Reitsma, Nicky (2025)

Negatieve jeugdherinneringen en empathisch functioneren bij jonge vrouwen tussen de 18 en 30 jaar zonder kinderen: een combinatie van zelfrapportage en fysiologische metingen

Master thesis | Education and Child Studies (MSc)

Negative childhood memories, such as emotional neglect or abuse, are frequently linked in the literature to social-emotional problems, including reduced empathy skills. This study examined whether retrospectively reported negative childhood memories (CTQ-SF) are associated with empathic functioning in women aged 18 to 30, without children. Empathy was measured via self-report (Interpersonal Reactivity Index – Empathic Concern) and physiological responses (facial electromyography) during the emotional empathy task. The sample included 80 young women (M = 23.6 years, SD = 0.44) from the RADAR cohort study by Spencer et al. (2022). The results showed that experienced negative childhood memories had no significant association with trait empathy (ρ = 0.08, p = .48) or with situational physiological empathy responses (repeated measures ANCOVA: no significant interactions with valence or time). However, the fEMG measurements did vary significantly with the emotional valence of the stimuli...Show moreNegative childhood memories, such as emotional neglect or abuse, are frequently linked in the literature to social-emotional problems, including reduced empathy skills. This study examined whether retrospectively reported negative childhood memories (CTQ-SF) are associated with empathic functioning in women aged 18 to 30, without children. Empathy was measured via self-report (Interpersonal Reactivity Index – Empathic Concern) and physiological responses (facial electromyography) during the emotional empathy task. The sample included 80 young women (M = 23.6 years, SD = 0.44) from the RADAR cohort study by Spencer et al. (2022). The results showed that experienced negative childhood memories had no significant association with trait empathy (ρ = 0.08, p = .48) or with situational physiological empathy responses (repeated measures ANCOVA: no significant interactions with valence or time). However, the fEMG measurements did vary significantly with the emotional valence of the stimuli and the passage of time: negative images caused an increase in muscle activity, positive images a decrease, and neutral images remained relatively stable (valence x time interaction: F (3.03, 239.16) = 27.18, p < 0.001, η²ₚ = 0.256). This indicates that the physiological empathic response in this sample is primarily driven by the current emotional stimulus and therefore not by experienced negative childhood experiences. Possible explanations include the homogeneous and non-clinical nature of the sample and the use of static images during the empathy task. Future research recommends using larger and more diverse samples, utilizing naturalistic or interactive empathy tasks (such as virtual reality). This allows for a better understanding of both the complexity of empathy and the effects of early negative childhood memories.Show less

Negatieve jeugdherinneringen

Trauma

Empathie

Author

Reitsma, Nicky

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

Master Forensische Gezinspedagogiek

Supervisors

Bos, P

ECTS Credits

20

Language

nl