Relationships between Trait Empathy and Psychological Well-Being in Japanese University Students

Abstract

The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) is a commonly used instrument for measuring individual differences in trait empathy. It is composed of the following four subscales: Perspective taking; fantasy; empathic concern; and personal distress. Previous studies have reported finding a positive relationship between psychological well-being and perspective taking, but little remains known about the association between psychological well-being and the other IRI subscales. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the degree to which each IRI subscale could predict psychological well-being, which was measured using Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales, in 119 Japanese undergraduate and graduate students (43 females, 76 males; mean age: 22 years; age range: 19 -25 years). Regression analysis revealed that perspective taking positively predicted personal growth, purpose in life, and environmental mastery, while personal distress negatively predicted autonomy, environmental mastery, and self-acceptance. Neither fantasy nor empathic concern predicted psychological well-being. These results support those found in previous studies, and suggest that perspective taking, a cognitive component of empathy, plays an important role in the improvement of psychological well-being.

The effect of humour on nursing professionals’ psychological well‐being goes beyond the influence of empathy: a cross‐sectional study

“…Additionally, we also replicated previous findings that revealed that affective empathy was positively linked to stress levels . Overall, the pattern of results obtained between empathy and the different indicators of PWB is consistent with the existing literature on the topic .…”

“…age, sex, marital status and occupation). As mentioned, empathy‐related traits such as perspective‐taking (a cognitive component) and personal distress (an affective component) also show significant connections with PWB . Moreover, these empathy‐related traits are intercorrelated with humour styles.…”

“…The Interpersonal Reactivity Index was also administered. Based on prior studies on the relationship between empathy‐related traits and PWB , we assessed the cognitive dimension through perspective‐taking (seven items; e.g. ‘When I'm upset at someone, I usually try to ‘put myself in his shoes’ for a while’) and the affective component through personal distress (six items; e.g.…”

“…With regard to this latter aspect, and in keeping with the theoretical approach developed by Davis , affective empathy is composed of two dimensions: empathic concern , which refers to an inclination to feel sympathy and compassion for the misfortunes of others, and personal distress , which refers to the reactions of anxiety and distress experienced by an individual when witnessing other people's negative experiences. This is not a trivial matter, given that recent research suggests that personal distress—and not empathic concern—is the affective dimension that significantly predicts PWB . In particular, empathic concern showed correlations around zero with PWB, whereas personal distress was negatively correlated with this construct.…”

“…Cognitive empathy is closely related to well‐being in university students , the general population and health professionals . Regarding this last group, a study carried out on a sample of internal medicine residents found significantly higher levels of physical and mental well‐being among respondents with greater levels of cognitive empathy .…”