The relationship of dispositional compassion with well-being: a study with a 15-year prospective follow-up

Saarinen, Aino; Keltikangas‐Järvinen, Liisa; Pulkki-Råbäck, Laura; Cloninger, C. Robert; Elovainio, Marko; Lehtimäki, Terho; Raitakari, Olli T.; Hintsanen, Mirka

doi:10.1080/17439760.2019.1663251

Cited by 19 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 106 publications

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“…The items were answered using a 5-point Likert-scale (1=completely disagree; 5=completely agree). The reliability and validity of the Compassion Scale has been described thoroughly previously (31). In this study, the internal consistency of the scale was found to be high (Cronbach's α=.…”

Section: Compassionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Somatic complaints in early adulthood predict the developmental course of compassion into middle age

Saarinen

Keltikangas‐Järvinen

Lehtimäki

et al. 2020

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

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Objective:The aim of the present study was to investigate (i) whether somatic complaints predict the developmental course of compassion in adulthood, and (ii) whether this association depends on alexithymic features. Methods: The participants came from the population-based Young Finns study (N=471-1037). Somatic complaints (headache, stomachache, chest pain, backache, fatigue, exhaustion, dizziness, heartburn, heartbeat, and tension) were evaluated with a self-rating questionnaire in 1986 when participants were aged between 18-24 years. Compassion was assessed with the Compassion Scale of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) in 1997, 2001, and 2012. The data were analyzed using growth curve models. Results: We obtained a significant compassion-age interaction (B=-0.137, p=0.02) and a compassion-age squared interaction interaction (B=0.007, p=0.006), when predicting the course of somatic complaints. Specifically, in participants without frequent somatic complaints, compassion steadily increased with age in adulthood. In participants with frequent somatic complaints, however, compassion remained at a lower level until the age of 40 years, then started to increase, and achieved the normal level of compassion approximately at the age of 50 years. The association between somatic complaints and compassion over age was found to be independent of alexithymic features. The analyses were adjusted for a variety of covariates (age, gender, use of health care in childhood, depression in childhood, parental socioeconomic factors, parental care-giving practices, stressful life events, parental alcohol intoxication, and participants' socioeconomic factors in adulthood). Conclusion: Frequent somatic complaints may predict delayed development of compassion in adulthood. This association was found to be independent of alexithymic features.

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Section: Compassionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Somatic complaints in early adulthood predict the developmental course of compassion into middle age

Saarinen

Keltikangas‐Järvinen

Lehtimäki

et al. 2020

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

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“…There further exists a link between compassionate states and dopaminergic reward signaling (Kim et al, 2009). Being compassionate has also been found to associate with better health, psychological well-being, and social functioning (Post, 2005;Steffen and Masters, 2005;Saarinen et al, 2019b). Dispositional compassion for others further predicts higher positive affect, lower negative affect, and more perceived social support assessed 4 and 10 years later (Saarinen et al, 2019b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Functional Polymorphisms in Oxytocin and Dopamine Pathway Genes and the Development of Dispositional Compassion Over Time: The Young Finns Study

et al. 2021

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Background: We define compassion as an enduring disposition that centers upon empathetic concern for another person's suffering and the motivation to act to alleviate it. The contribution of specific candidate genes to the development of dispositional compassion for others is currently unknown. We examine candidate genes in the oxytocin and dopamine signaling pathways.Methods: In a 32-year follow-up of the Young Finns Study (N = 2,130, 44.0% men), we examined with multiple indicators latent growth curve modeling the molecular genetic underpinnings of dispositional compassion for others across the life span. We selected five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) whose functions are known in humans: rs2268498 (OXTR), rs3796863 (CD38) (related to lower oxytocin levels), rs1800497 (ANKK1/DRD2), rs4680 (COMT), and rs1611115 (DBH) (related to higher dopamine levels). Compassion was measured with Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory on three repeated observations spanning 15 years (1997–2012). Differences between gender were tested.Results: We did not find an effect of the five SNPs in oxytocin and dopamine pathway genes on the initial levels of dispositional compassion for others. Individuals who carry one or two copies of the T-allele of DBH rs1611115, however, tend to increase faster in compassion over time than those homozygotes for the C-allele, b = 0.063 (SE = 0.027; p = 0.018). This effect was largely driven by male participants, 0.206 (SE = 0.046; p < 0.001), and was not significant in female participants when analyzed separately.Conclusions: Men who are known to have, on average, lower compassion than women seem to reduce this difference over time if they carry the T-allele of DBH rs1611115. The direction of the association indicates that dopamine signaling activity rather than overall dopamine levels might drive the development of compassion.

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“…Reverse‐scored items were rescored before calculating the means for T1–T3, respectively. Criterion validity of the TCI compassion scale has been demonstrated by positive correlations with social warmth, sociability, and positive emotions (García et al., 2012), and well‐being (Saarinen et al., 2019) and negative correlations with anger, hostility, and verbal and physical aggression (García et al., 2012), narcissistic personality (De Fruyt et al., 2006), depressive symptoms (Saarinen et al., 2019), and unhealthy behaviors (Gluschkoff et al., 2019). In this YFS subsample, the dispositional compassion had high reliability (Cronbach's α T1–T3 ≥ 0.86) and rank‐order stability over time ( r T1→T2 = .69; p < .001 / r T1→T3 = .60; p < .001).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic differential susceptibility to the parent–child relationship quality and the life span development of compassion

Dobewall

Keltikangas‐Järvinen

Saarinen

et al. 2021

Developmental Psychobiology

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The development of compassion for others might be influenced by the social experiences made during childhood and has a genetic component. No research has yet investigated whether the parent–child relationship quality interacts with genetic variation in the oxytocin and dopamine systems in predicting compassion over the life span. In the prospective Young Finns Study (N = 2099, 43.9% men), we examined the interaction between mother‐reported emotional warmth and intolerance toward their child assessed in 1980 (age of participants, 3–18 years) and two established genetic risk scores for oxytocin levels and dopamine signaling activity. Dispositional compassion for others was measured with the Temperament and Character Inventory 1997, 2001, and 2012 (age of participants, 20–50 years). We found a gene–environment interaction (p = .031) that remained marginally significant after adjustment for multiple testing. In line with the differential susceptibility hypothesis, only participants who carry alleles associated with low dopamine signaling activity had higher levels of compassion when growing up with emotionally warm parents, whereas they had lower levels of compassion when their parents were emotionally cold. Children's genetic variability in the dopamine system might result in plasticity to early environmental influences that have a long‐lasting effect on the development of compassion. However, our findings need replication.

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The relationship of dispositional compassion with well-being: a study with a 15-year prospective follow-up

Cited by 19 publications

References 106 publications

Somatic complaints in early adulthood predict the developmental course of compassion into middle age

Somatic complaints in early adulthood predict the developmental course of compassion into middle age

Functional Polymorphisms in Oxytocin and Dopamine Pathway Genes and the Development of Dispositional Compassion Over Time: The Young Finns Study

Genetic differential susceptibility to the parent–child relationship quality and the life span development of compassion

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