Gender differences in the association between theory of mind, empathy and conduct disorder: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to explore gender differences regarding theory of mind and empathy abilities in a sample of adolescents with conduct disorder (n=46; males=28 and females=18). Empathy (cognitive and emotional dimensions) and theory of mind (reading the mind through the eyes) were tested based on an observational method with a crosssectional design. Statistical analysis included: description of variables according to their type, assessment of quantitative correlations and logistic multivariate modelling for identifying variables that differentiate female from male patients. The results demonstrated significant gender differences in empathy and theory of mind evaluations. Particularly, women showed different scores for cognitive/emotional empathy and in the Reading the Mind through the Eyes test, with a lower number of behavioural symptoms. The results are discussed in light of the current empirical evidence, and some future directions in the study of conduct disorder are suggested.

The intensity of empathy in adolescents treated in a day unit – preliminary reports

“…Arango-Tobón i wsp. [23] porównywali dziewczęta (N = 18) i chłopców (N = 28) w wieku 16-17 lat z rozpoznaniem zaburzeń zachowania (conduct disorder) pod kątem empatii (kognitywnej, afektywnej), teorii umysłu oraz nasilenia objawów psychopatologicznych. Zaobserwowali, że dziewczęta cechowały się istotnie wyższym poziomem empatii afektywnej i poznawczej mierzonych Skalą Empatii Davisa, w tym ich składowych, tj.…”

“…empatycznej troski, osobistej przykrości, umiejętności przyjmowania cudzej perspektywy. Nie odnotowano natomiast różnic w podskali Fantazji [23].…”

Psychometric validation of teacher empathy scale: Measurement invariance in gender

“…According to some studies, the women had higher empathy (especially emotional empathy) than men and attributed to factors like gender roles and hormones (oxytocin and testosterone) (Rueckert and Naybar, 2008;Chen et al, 2014). Considerable gender differences were found by Arango-Tobón et al (2020) in empathy. They revealed that women represented significant scores for cognitive/ emotional empathy.…”