Psoriasis patients frequently report feelings of stigmatization. While many studies have been done on self-stigma, perceived stigma and on the impact of stigmatization on patients with psoriasis,...Show morePsoriasis patients frequently report feelings of stigmatization. While many studies have been done on self-stigma, perceived stigma and on the impact of stigmatization on patients with psoriasis, few studies have focused on the extent and predictors of public stigma towards psoriasis. This cross-sectional study is the first study to date to focus on the extent of public stigma towards psoriasis in the Dutch population, as well as to examine the possible predictive value of four subscales of empathy as assessed by the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI); perspective taking, PT; fantasy, FS; empathic concern, EC; and personal distress, PD. Respondents (N = 121) were asked to watch video vignettes, after which public stigma was measured with the Impact of Chronic Skin Disease on Daily Life (ISDL). A paired-samples t-test and multiple regression analysis were conducted. Results suggests that that there is public stigma towards psoriasis in the Dutch population (t(119) = -6.55, p < .001). A weak positive relation between personal distress (PD) and public stigma was found (B = .08, p = .04), while the other three empathy subscales (PT, FS and EC) were not found to be significant predictors for public stigma towards psoriasis (all p-values >.05). These results add to the theoretical knowledge about psoriasis and theory development and suggest that interventions against public stigma towards psoriasis might not focus on eliciting empathy, as other mechanisms would possibly be more beneficial in reducing public stigma. Future studies should replicate the study with other measurement instruments.Show less
This study examined differences in prosocial giving behavior of gifted and nongifted young adolescents towards five targets (a friend, disliked person, a stranger, and the participant’s father and...Show moreThis study examined differences in prosocial giving behavior of gifted and nongifted young adolescents towards five targets (a friend, disliked person, a stranger, and the participant’s father and mother), and the effects of perspective taking. 93 Dutch students between the ages of 9 and 12 were assessed using the Perspective Taking scale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Prosocial Donation task, a donation game in which participants divided ten coins between themselves and various targets. Findings showed that gifted young adolescents showed less prosocial giving towards their mother than nongifted young adolescents. No difference in prosocial giving behavior was found between gifted and nongifted young adolescents towards the other targets (a friend, a disliked person, a stranger, and the participant’s father). Gifted young adolescents overall donated an equal number of coins as their nongifted peers, despite differentiating differently across targets. Furthermore, participants showed more prosocial giving behavior towards friends than strangers, which supports previous findings involving prosocial giving behavior and ingroup-outgroup differentiation. Contrary to expectations, perspective taking did not have an effect on the level of prosocial giving in young adolescents – neither gifted nor nongifted, and no difference in perspective taking was found between gifted and nongifted young adolescents. These findings show that gifted young adolescents are not so dissimilar from their nongifted peers. Our results challenge false stereotypes of gifted youth as possessing characteristic social and emotional problems. This study expanded on previous research by including giftedness and examining prosocial giving behavior to parents. Future research into prosocial giving behavior of early adolescents could include even more detailed assessments of interpersonal relationships between participants and their parents.Show less
This study explores the effects of multidimensional empathy, specifically perspective taking and empathic concern in gifted early adolescents. This research was initiated in order to study whether...Show moreThis study explores the effects of multidimensional empathy, specifically perspective taking and empathic concern in gifted early adolescents. This research was initiated in order to study whether gifted early adolescents would develop higher perspective taking and empathic concern levels based on their cognitive abilities compared to non-gifted early adolescents, such that a higher score on empathic concern and perspective taking in the Interpersonal Reactivity Index was expected for gifted early adolescents. A sample of 41 gifted (n=27) and non-gifted (n=15) aged 9 to 12 participated. No significant differences were found on empathic concern and perspective taking for gifted early adolescents compared to non-gifted early adolescents which leads to the conclusion that gifted and non-gifted early adolescents may be more similar then previously depicted in research.Show less
