Empathy and peer violence among adolescents: Moderation effect of gender

Abstract

The study examined the relationships between empathy and peer violence among adolescents, along with gender as a moderator in these associations. Thereby, multidimensionality of empathy (affective and cognitive empathy) and different forms of violence (physical, verbal, and relational) were considered. The participants were 646 high school students (aged 15-to 19-years-old) from Serbia. The findings revealed that only the cognitive dimension of empathy was related to violence, namely to physical and relational violence, while relations between the empathy dimensions and verbal violence were not significant. Gender moderated only the relation between cognitive empathy and physical violence, in a way that there was significant negative relation only among boys. Cognitive empathy was negatively related to relational violence, regardless of gender. The results are discussed in the context of the characteristics of violent interactions among adolescents, and recommendations are given for violence prevention programs in high schools.

Differences and Similarities between Perpetrators of Ethnic and Non-Ethnicity-Based Victimization

“…The findings regarding the role of empathy in youth’s engagement in ethnic or non-ethnicity-based victimization show a complex pattern of associations. Supporting previous research (e.g., Dinić et al 2016 ; van Noorden et al 2017 ), the univariate analysis shows that adolescents in any of the non-normative groups (i.e., high ethnic victimization, high non-ethnicity-based victimization, or high on both forms of victimization) have lower empathic concerns and perspective-taking skills than those in the normative group. However, this clear pattern of group differences disappears when the roles of other potential risk factors (i.e., impulsivity, moral disengagement, and attitudes toward immigrants) are taken into account.…”

“…However, findings on the association between cognitive empathy and antisocial behavior are somewhat inconclusive. Whereas some studies have indicated a negative association between cognitive empathy and aggressive behavior (e.g., Dinić et al 2016 ), others have shown no association (e.g., Jolliffe and Farrington 2011 ; Stavrinides et al 2010 ). Together, the findings suggest that children who victimize their peers are not necessarily incapable of comprehending what their peers feel, but rather that they have an impaired ability to experience what their peers might feel, which indicates that lack of affective empathy may be an important precursor of engagement in peer victimization.…”

Psychological Predictors of Bullying in Adolescents From Pluricultural Schools: A Transnational Study in Spain and Ecuador

“…It has been seen that a low affective empathy is a predictor of the involvement as a bully and the other way around (Stavrinides et al, 2010). However, other studies do not show any association between affective empathy and involvement in bullying (Dini et al, 2016).…”

“…In some studies, it is said that cognitive empathy is positively associated with a violent behavior in both genders (Caravita et al, 2009; Rieffe and Camodeca, 2016). However, other studies conclude that cognitive empathy is negatively associated with levels of aggression in bullying (Mitsopoulou and Giovazolias, 2015; Dini et al, 2016). One of the few existing longitudinal studies has revealed that cognitive empathy does not predict involvement as a bully or the other way around (Stavrinides et al, 2010).…”

“…Part of the studies on cognitive empathy and involvement in bullying has found a link between both (e.g., Caravita et al, 2009; Dini et al, 2016; Rieffe and Camodeca, 2016), while another part has not found any relation between them (van Noorden et al, 2015). However, within the studies that have evidenced such connection, the results are inconsistent.…”