Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Conduct disorder (CD) have somewhat similar symptoms. Both are characterized by problems with cognitive empathy, but CD is also characterized by problems with...Show moreAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Conduct disorder (CD) have somewhat similar symptoms. Both are characterized by problems with cognitive empathy, but CD is also characterized by problems with affective empathy. Research has shown that problems with affective empathy can be linked to aggression. CD is characterized by aggression, both proactive and reactive, but this is not clear for ASD. Current research was conducted to answer the question: On what aspects do ASD and CD differ from each other and from a control (CON) group, considering empath and aggression? A sample of 112 boys participated in the study. They were divided into three groups based on the diagnosis of CD, ASD or no diagnosis (CON). They were asked to fill in the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) and the Reactive-Proactive Agression Questionaire (RPQ). A distinction was made between affective and cognitive empathy and a total empathy score, and between proactive and reactive aggression and a total aggression score. The results showed that CD had more problems with empathy, specifically affective empathy, than ASD compared to CON. CD showed a higher score on aggression, on both subscales and the total score, than both ASD and CON. ASD did not differ from CON on any of the variables. These results support previous research in which it was stated that there is an association between problems with affective empathy and aggression in children with CD. This association was not found for ASD. It is suggested that future research should investigate possible factors that could be of influence on the absence of this relation between empathy and aggression for ASD.Show less
