No abstract

Although the core characteristics associated with autistic traits are impaired social interactions, there are few studies examining how autistic traits translate into prosocial behaviour in daily life. The current study explored the effect of autistic traits on prosocial behaviour and the mediating role of multimodal empathy (trait empathy and state empathic concern). The results showed that autistic traits reduced prosocial behaviour directly and indirectly through complex mediation by multimodal empathy. The findings revealed the internal mechanism of autistic traits impeding prosocial behaviour and expanded our understandings of social behaviour in autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) and autistic traits in the general population. Furthermore, the results have implications for social adaptability interventions for individuals with ASCs and high levels of autistic traits.

Background: Although empathy has always been considered to be impaired in individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs), the relevant findings have been inconsistent. The present meta-analysis aims to determine which empathy components are impaired and how culture, gender, and age moderate such empathy impairment.Methods: By using “Autism,” “Asperger Syndrome,” “Empathy,” and related Chinese synonyms as keywords, we searched the databases of Weipu, Wanfang, CNKI, Web of Science, Science Direct, SpringerLink, and Elsevier through “subject” and “keyword” searches. We also conducted a manual search according to the references. In total, 51 studies from Eastern and Western countries were included in this meta-analysis, which comprised 144 independent effects, 2,095 individuals with ASCs and 2,869 controls without ASCs. For the retrieved data, Hedge's g was taken as the quantitative measure of effect, and CMA V2.0 software was used for publication bias tests (by using Rosenthal's Classic Failsafe-N and Egger's methods), heterogeneity tests (by using a Q-test, I2-test, and H-test) and a moderating effect test (by using a univariate regression model).Results: The results showed that the empathy impairment evident in individuals with ASCs is component specific; that is, trait-cognitive empathy, trait-empathic concern, state-cognitive empathy, and state-empathic concern are impaired, whereas state-empathic accuracy remains intact, and trait-empathic accuracy is superior to the trait-empathic accuracy in neurotypical individuals. The univariate regression model showed that gender moderates the impairment of the trait-empathic concern, trait-empathic accuracy, and state-cognitive empathy in autistic individuals and that age moderates the impairment of the trait-cognitive empathy, trait-empathic accuracy, state-empathic concern, and state-empathic accuracy in autistic individuals. However, culture does not moderate any empathy components (trait-cognitive empathy, trait-empathic concern, or state-cognitive empathy) involved in the present meta-analysis.Conclusions: These findings contribute to ending the controversy over the empathic integrity of individuals with ASCs and shed some light on future research about the empathy impairment of autistic individuals. More specifically, subsequent studies should distinguish specific empathy components and consider the role of gender and age when demonstrating empathy impairment in individuals with ASCs. Moreover, related studies based on Asian collectivist cultural samples and female samples should be further enriched.

This study explores the impact of inclusive leadership on employees’ pro-social rule breaking through the dual path of psychological safety and leadership identification, as well as the moderating role of leader-member exchange in the above paths. We used questionnaires to survey 303 employees at two time points. The results show that inclusive leadership has a significant positive impact on employees’ pro-social rule breaking, that psychological safety and leadership identification play mediating roles in this relationship, and that there is no significant difference between the mediating effects. Leader-member exchange moderates the indirect effect of inclusive leadership on pro-social rule breaking through psychological safety. That is, under a high level of leader-member exchange, inclusive leadership has a strong impact on psychological safety and pro-social rule breaking, but the moderating effect of inclusive leadership on employees’ pro-social rule breaking through leadership identification is not significant. This study provides guidance for improving the vitality of employees and promoting the development of enterprise rules.

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of rumination on the relationship between neuroticism and anxietydepression among a sample of 405 elderly adults from China. The participants completed a questionnaire packet containing neuroticism, ruminative response, and depression and anxiety scales. Path analysis was adopted to test the mediating effects, and bootstrap methods were applied to assess the magnitude of indirect effects. Results showed that anxiety and depression were positively correlated with neuroticism and rumination. Neuroticism positively influenced the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and this relationship was partially mediated by rumination. This study expounded the mediating role of rumination underlying the positive association between neuroticism and anxiety-depression in older adults.