Externalizing behavior in childhood is considered an important predictor for behavioral disorders and antisocial behavior in adolescence and early adulthood. Knowledge of which factors are related...Show moreExternalizing behavior in childhood is considered an important predictor for behavioral disorders and antisocial behavior in adolescence and early adulthood. Knowledge of which factors are related to the presence of externalizing behavior could help create effective interventions for reducing externalizing behavior. Previous research indicated that there is a negative relation between emotion recognition, empathy with externalizing behavior, but the results are inconsistent. The present study aimed to examine whether externalizing behavior could be predicted by emotion recognition and empathy within a sample of children showing externalizing behavior (n = 130). Externalizing behavior was measured with the TRF, nonverbal emotion recognition with the FER, verbal emotion recognition with the ANT prosody task, and cognitive empathy with questions about different emotional video clips. Results showed that non-verbal and verbal recognition of emotions did not correlate significantly with externalizing behavior, except when there was less non-verbal emotion recognition of happy feelings there was slightly more externalizing behavior. Externalizing behavior was not predicted by verbal-, and non-verbal emotion recognition, and cognitive empathy. There also was no partial mediation from verbal- and non-verbal emotion recognition on the relationship between cognitive empathy and externalizing behavior. It seems that children that show less cognitive empathy and correct verbal and non-verbal emotion recognition do not show more externalizing behavior. It is possible that this is different for certain emotions, because children who were slightly better at recognizing the non-verbal emotion happy showed slightly less externalizing behavior. Future research should include the possible effect of age on the relationship between emotion recognition and cognitive empathy with externalizing behavior and the possible difference of externalizing behavior reported by teachers and parents should be taken into account.Show less
The complexities of daily life require us to have a flexible mind. Indeed, our world is constantly changing, urging us to respond in an adaptive, flexible manner to external demands. Previous...Show moreThe complexities of daily life require us to have a flexible mind. Indeed, our world is constantly changing, urging us to respond in an adaptive, flexible manner to external demands. Previous research has linked trait anxiety to decreased cognitive flexibility. Although past research has repeatedly implied that higher levels of anxiety in adolescents is related to lower levels of cognitive flexibility, there is little research about protective factors that positively influence this relationship. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate whether different types of empathy have a moderating effect on the relationship between trait anxiety and cognitive flexibility. It was hypothesized that higher levels of trait anxiety predict lower levels of cognitive flexibility, this relationship was expected to be moderated by three types of empathy, namely affective empathy, cognitive empathy, and intention to comfort. In the final sample, a total of 103 healthy participants were included, (51 females, 52 males), around 25 from each of the defined age groups: 9-10 (pre-adolescents), 12-13 (early adolescents), 15-16 (mid-adolescents), 18-19 (late-adolescents). Trait Anxiety was measured with the State-Anxiety Inventory DY (STAI), the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS) was used to assess cognitive flexibility, and the Empathy Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (EmQue-CA) measured the level of all three empathy types. Results indicated, concurrent with the first hypothesis, higher levels of trait anxiety predict lower levels of cognitive flexibility. However, inconsistent with the second hypothesis, the relationship between trait anxiety and cognitive flexibility was not moderated by any of the three empathy types. Given that results predicted decreased levels of cognitive flexibility in trait-anxious adolescents, more research is crucial to investigate the protective mechanism of empathy on the interaction between trait anxiety and cognitive flexibility.Show less
BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment is a global health problem affecting children across the globe, that can result in serious impairments in later life, taking the form of serious psychological...Show moreBACKGROUND: Child maltreatment is a global health problem affecting children across the globe, that can result in serious impairments in later life, taking the form of serious psychological disorders or impoverished social skills. Empathy belongs to one of these fundamental skills. The current study aims to replicate previous findings that childhood maltreatment history is associated with lower empathy levels. Generally, research distinguishes between affective and cognitive empathy. Hence, this study explores possible differences in impact of child maltreatment history on cognitive versus affective empathy. METHOD: This cross-sectional design involved 218 healthy participants between 18 and 79 years of age. To assess child maltreatment, the Dutch version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) was used. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET) were used to assess both cognitive and affective empathy. The sample was divided into maltreated and non-maltreated participants, by applying cut-off scores, and where compared with multivariate ANOVAs on MET mean arousal level, MET total accuracy, perspective taking (PT), empathic concern (EC), fantasy (FS) and personal distress (PD). RESULTS: The present study failed to replicate previous findings of associations between child maltreatment and lowered empathy. Furthermore, a difference in impact on the two forms of empathy was not identified. However, after the exclusion of outliers, an indication was found for impaired cognitive empathy in individuals with maltreatment history. DISCUSSION: The present study shows that possible selective effects of child maltreatment on either cognitive or affective empathy may exist. Knowing how maltreatment differentially affects individuals in later adulthood, can help to optimize both prevention measures as well as treatments dealing with the consequence of child maltreatment, e.g. individual training focusing on either type of empathy. Limitations of the present study are discussed.Show less
