Adolescents' emotional engagement in friends' problems and joys: Associations of empathetic distress and empathetic joy with friendship quality, depression, and anxiety

Empathy's Crucial Role: Unraveling Impact on Students Bullying Behavior - A Scoping Review

Bullying behavior among students is a serious problem in the educational context and has an impact on victims and perpetrators. Bullying has serious impacts, both emotionally and psychologically, especially for victims who are vulnerable to stress, depression, and even in extreme cases, can lead to suicidal tendencies. Empathy is a key factor in responding to bullying situations. So empathy is an important aspect in reducing bullying behavior. The aim of this research is to explore the role of empathy in bullying behavior in students. The scoping review method was used in this research. The keywords used are empathy, bullying, and students. Search for articles in three databases, namely CINAHL, PubMed, and Scopus. The inclusion criteria in the article search were samples are students (elementary schools students until high schools students) English language, discussion of empathy, publication of articles in the last 10 years (2014-2023), and original research. Grey literature excluded in this scoping review. Data analysis using thematic analysis. The authors found 13 articles that discussed the influence of empathy on bullying behavior in students. Findings from the articles analyzed highlight the complexity of the interactions between affective and cognitive empathy and students behavior in the context of bullying. Students with high levels of empathy tend to be more active in defending victims of bullying, while low levels of empathy tend to reinforce bullying behavior or passive bystander attitudes. Intervention programs that include social and emotional skills training, awareness campaigns, and learning approaches that promote tolerance and respect for diversity can have the potential to reduce the incidence of bullying in students. Increasing understanding and empathetic responses can be an effective strategy in addressing bullying problems in schools and communities.

Caring for a parent with dementia: The psychological well-being of adult children

BACKGROUND

Caregiving for a parent with dementia has both positive and negative influences on psychological well-being of adult children and perceived social support plays an essential role in dementia caregiving process.

OBJECTIVES

We examined how the degree of caregiving intensity influences mental health among Chinese adult children then further explored how perceived social support influences the relationship between intensity and psychological well-being.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND SETTING

Cross-sectional study in Kunming, mainland China between November 2022 and January 2023.

METHODS

We interviewed 320 adult dementia child caregivers. Linear regression and multiple mediation analysis using Hayes' process model were used to assess the relationship between caregiving intensity and psychological well-being, as well as the mediating role of perceived social support.

RESULTS

The study found that caregiving intensity was positively associated with depression and negatively associated with life satisfaction. A lack of perceived social support exacerbated these effects for the adult children. Specifically, the caregivers reported higher caregiving intensity when they perceived less family support, which is in turn associated with greater depression and lower life satisfaction among the caregivers. Likewise, those who reported higher caregiving intensity was reported lower friend support, which was in turn associated with greater depression.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The findings emphasize the importance of social support, especially family support, and the necessity for health practitioners to provide targeted interventions on both negative and positive aspects of psychological well-being among dementia caregivers and to strengthen caregivers' resources for social support to enhance their well-being. While these findings are cross-sectional, it is logical to assume that those who perceive less support feel that their caregiving responsibilities are more intense, and that intensity could cause the caregiver to withdraw from friends.

The Research on Risk Factors for Adolescents' Mental Health

There is a growing tendency for mental health disorders to emerge during adolescence. These disorders impair emotional, cognitive, and behavioral functioning, such as unsatisfying peer relationships, disruptive behavior, and decreased academic performance. They also contribute to vulnerability in later adulthood which negatively influences life-long well-being. Thus, research into etiology is imperative to provide implications for prevention and intervention within family and school practices. It is suggested that the onset of psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety, is closely related to stress levels and patterns of stress reaction. Therefore, considerable research has investigated the link between hereditary factors, economic status, dispositional vulnerability, social relationships, and stress levels. The current study examines existing evidence and identifies multifaceted risk factors for adolescents' mental problems across three layers, including individual traits and personality, family status and practices, as well as peer relationships, and school climate. It is also suggested that factors from these three perspectives interact and are closely interconnected, directly or indirectly contributing to adolescent psychopathology. The implications for future development of prevention and intervention programs, as well as therapy, are discussed.

Different Ways to Defend Victims of Bullying: Defending Profiles and Their Associations with Adolescents' Victimization Experiences and Depressive Symptoms

Adolescents use various strategies to help their victimized peers during bullying episodes. However, prior research has primarily adopted a variable-centered approach that examines the effect of each defending strategies separately and does not address whether there were different types of defenders who exhibit specific combinations of defending strategies and how these profiles related to youth's adjustment outcomes. Using latent profile analysis, this study identified defending profiles among a sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 1618, Mage = 13.81, SDage = 0.94, 42% girls) and examined whether these profiles differ on victimization experiences and depressive symptoms. The results yielded four defending profiles: nonaggressive defenders (15%), aggressive defenders (7%), average defenders (54%), and infrequent defenders (24%). Aggressive defenders and infrequent defenders exhibited the highest levels of self-reported victimization and depressive symptoms, whereas nonaggressive defenders demonstrated the lowest. There were no statistical profile differences in peer-reported victimization. Findings suggest that investigating the heterogeneity of youth using defending strategies is important for understanding whether defending actually puts youth at increased risk for negative adjustment.

Effectiveness of a blended school-based mindfulness program for the prevention of co-rumination and internalizing problems in Dutch secondary school girls: a cluster randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

A growing body of literature indicates that adolescent girls who talk with close friends about interpersonal problems or worries in an excessive, speculative way, and with an intense focus on distress (i.e., co-rumination) are at heightened risk for developing internalizing symptoms and disorders as well as reduced friendship quality. However, to date, there are no prevention programs available that target high levels of co-rumination between adolescent girls. As such, we developed the blended school-based mindfulness prevention program Happy Friends, Positive Minds (HFPM) that targets co-rumination at the dyadic level, i.e., between two close female friends. The aim of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of HFPM to reduce co-rumination and internalizing problems and to enhance wellbeing and social-emotional behavior in Dutch adolescent girls.

METHODS

A cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (cRCT) will be conducted to evaluate HFPM effectiveness. We will recruit 160 female friendship dyads (n = 320 girls) aged 13 to 15 years who will be characterized by high levels of self-reported co-rumination. The cRCT has two arms: (1) an intervention condition in which 160 girls (80 friendship dyads) will receive the 14-week HFPM program in two consecutive cohorts (cohort 1 in academic year 2023/2024 and cohort 2 in academic year 2024/2025, and (2) a control condition in which 160 girls (80 dyads) will receive care-as-usual (CAU) in two consecutive cohorts (cohort 1 in academic year 2023/2024 and cohort 2 in academic year 2024/2025). Data will be collected at baseline (T0), during the program (T1;T2; T3), immediately after the program (T4), and at 1-year follow-up (T5). Participant-level self-reported risk for (early onset) depression and anxiety, self-reported and observed co-rumination, self- and friend-reported friendship quality, self-reported positive and negative affect, self-reported interpersonal responses to positive affect, and self-reported anhedonia symptoms will be the outcome variables.

DISCUSSION

This study will provide insights into the short-term and long-term effects of the HFPM program on girls' internalizing problems, wellbeing, and social-emotional behavior.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

International Standard Randomized Controlled Trials, identifier: ISRCTN54246670. Registered on 27 February 2023.

Adolescent Young Carers Who Provide Help and Support to Friends

Prior studies emphasize the value of friends' support for children/adolescents who have a disability or suffer from mental ill-health or a long-term illness. However, few studies have explored how a caring role affects those young friend carers themselves. This paper addresses a gap in the research by focusing on this hitherto neglected group of young carers to explore the impact of providing care to friends. An online survey was employed for a cross-national study conducted in 2018-2019 in Sweden, Italy, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom to examine the incidence of adolescent young friend carers, the extent of care they provide, and their self-reported health, well-being, and school situation. The survey was completed by 7146 adolescents, aged 15-17, and 1121 of them provided care to a friend with a health-related condition, most frequently mental ill-health. They carried out high levels of caring activities, and a quarter of them also provided care to a family member. They experienced both positive and negative aspects of caring. Nevertheless, in comparison with adolescents who provided care to family members, they reported more health problems, with a dominance of mental ill-health, and they received lower levels of support. Since adolescent friends play a valuable role for young people with health-related conditions, especially mental ill-health, it is important to find ways of optimizing their caring experiences in order that those adolescents who choose to care for a friend can do so without it having a negative impact on their own mental health, well-being, and life situation.

Longitudinal relationship of empathy and social anxiety among adolescents: The mediation roles of psychological inflexibility and rejection sensitivity

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of study was to explore the roles of psychological inflexibility and rejection sensitivity in the relationship between (cognitive and affective) empathy and social anxiety among adolescents.

METHODS

A two-wave longitudinal design was adopted in the present study. A total of 2481 participants (41.60 % male; Mage = 16.48) aged from 13 to 21 in 2021 completed the Chinese Version of Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI-C), Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ), Chinese version of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y8), Child Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (CRSQ), and Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescent (SAS-A) at baseline assessment (T1), and completed the SAS-A again three months later (T2).

RESULTS

(1) Results showed, personal distress at T1 could significantly and positively predict social anxiety at T2. (2) Mediation analyses results demonstrated that adolescents' experience avoidance and rejection sensitivity at T1 were significant mediators between cognitive empathy at T1 and social anxiety at T2, but with the opposite effect. As for affective empathy, rejection sensitivity at T1 significantly mediated the relationship between adolescents' empathic concern at T1 and social anxiety at T2. Furthermore, experience avoidance and rejection sensitivity at T1 significantly mediated the association between personal distress at T1 and social anxiety at T2.

CONCLUSIONS

Cognitive and affective empathy had different roles in contributing to adolescents' social anxiety. The findings in the current study can also provide empirical support for targeting adolescents' social anxiety by reducing personal distress directly and decreasing experiential avoidance and rejection sensitivity indirectly.

The Roles of Social Media Use and Friendship Quality in Adolescents' Internalizing Problems and Well-being

Adolescents spend increasing amounts of time using social media, but whether social media use has a beneficial or harmful role in internalizing problems and well-being during adolescence remains under debate. The present study explored associations of social media use and friendship quality with adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being both concurrently and longitudinally, including the exploration of interactive effects between social media use and friendship quality and the examination of gender differences. Online questionnaire data collected in Spring 2018 and Spring 2019 from 1,298 Dutch adolescents aged 11-17 years (mean age 13.7 ± 1.1 years, 53.2% girls) were used. Path analyses showed that, cross-sectionally, girls (not boys) who used social media more frequently had more internalizing problems and lower well-being. Boys and girls with higher-quality friendships reported fewer concurrent internalizing problems and higher concurrent and longitudinal well-being; the association with internalizing problems was significantly stronger for girls as for boys. We found no significant interaction between social media use and friendship quality. Thus, the present study indicates that social media use and friendship quality have unique roles in adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being. Furthermore, the findings support the importance of gender-specific approaches to decrease adolescents' internalizing problems and enhance their well-being.

"Now We're All Family": Exploring Social and Emotional Development in a Summer Hip Hop Mixtape Camp

Child and adolescent mental health indicators were trending in the wrong direction pre-COVID-19 and have worsened with the exacerbation of life stressors during a pandemic, especially among youth of color and girls (Racine et al. in JAMA Pediatr 175:1142-1150, 2021). Hip Hop integrated group work with adolescents has increased in the literature, with an emphasis on being more culturally responsive and engaging compared to traditional therapeutic approaches. Levy and Travis (J Spec Group Work 45:307-330, 2020) found in their research that while all Hip Hop integrated groups were effective, the semi-structured group had the most significant reduction in symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety, compared to the highly structured and minimally structured groups. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a Hip Hop integrated intervention, that is multi-modal and interdisciplinary (i.e., blending two distinct models [HHE/CCMC] and facilitated by a social worker and school counselor). could effectively promote positive social and emotional development, across three leadership styles. Three groups of six high school students (total n = 18), identifying predominantly as Latinx and Black, were selected from a high school summer enrichment program. Results suggest social and emotional benefits for youth across all groups, regardless of facilitation style. Benefits included increased confidence, a strong sense of community, experiencing joy, and a willingness to step outside of their comfort zones to collaborate and create something personally meaningful. The setting (summer) and sample (high school students) have implications for programming and policies to best meet the mental health needs of youth year round and during times of instability.

Factors impacting the experience of empathic distress in social anxiety: a path analysis approach

Personal distress is a manifestation of empathy characterized by a tendency to respond to others' difficulties by increasing one's distress. Previous work on socially anxious individuals has shown mixed results, consistent with a model of social anxiety symptomatology characterized by increased personal distress in empathy eliciting situations, which is driven by emotional dysregulation. The current study aimed to test a serial mediation model to uncover the role of emotional dysregulation in the relationship between social anxiety and empathic distress. 330 young adults were included in the sample. Social anxiety symptomatology, difficulty identifying one's feelings, expressive suppression, and empathic distress were analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling. Measurement and structural models were supported by data, with social anxiety exhibiting direct and indirect effects on empathic distress. Results also suggest that expressive suppression exhibits a negative effect on the distress exhibited in empathy eliciting situations, which brings forth relevant theoretical and clinical implications.

Depression and mental health service use among 12-17 year old U.S. adolescents: Associations with current parental and sibling military service

Objective

To examine whether having a parent and/or a sibling currently serving in the military is associated with major depression and use of mental health services among 12-17 year old adolescents in the United States.

Method

Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses are conducted using pooled data from the 2016-2019 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Analyses are weighted and standard errors are adjusted for the complex sampling design.

Results

Adolescents are more likely to have a sibling than a parent currently serving in the military. Having a sibling currently in the military increases the likelihood of having a lifetime and a past-year major depressive episode (MDE), but not a past-year MDE with severe role impairment or use of mental health services. Having a parent in the military is not associated with any measure of MDE, but increases use of specialty outpatient, specialty inpatient/residential, and non-specialty mental health services net of MDE and sociodemographic controls.

Conclusion

Considerable attention has focused on risk and resilience among the dependent children of current service members. A better understanding of how the current military service experiences of siblings, as well as parents, influences related adolescents' mental health, mental health care service use, substance use, and health behaviors has the potential to contribute to programs and interventions that can enhance the well-being of youth with intra-generational, as well as inter-generational, connections to the military. Adolescents who have a sibling currently serving in the military are an at-risk population for MDE and potentially other mental and behavioral health problems.

Longitudinal associations among adolescents' internalizing problems, well-being, and the quality of their relationships with their mothers, fathers, and close friends

RATIONALE

Internalizing problems (i.e., depressive and anxiety symptoms) are known to decrease adolescents' well-being, but knowledge about potential underlying mechanisms is limited. The qualities of adolescents' most proximal relationships with their parents and close friends are expected to play a role in the association between adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being.

OBJECTIVE

The present study was conducted to 1) investigate the indirect longitudinal association between internalizing problems and adolescents' well-being via the quality of adolescents' relationships with both their mothers and fathers and their close friends, and 2) test whether our findings were gender invariant.

METHODS

Data were collected via online questionnaires in two waves at a 12-month interval from adolescents attending three secondary schools in the Netherlands (N = 1298; M age = 13.7 years, 53.2% girls). The data were analyzed using a two-wave cross-lagged panel model in R. Multigroup analyses were performed to examine the gender invariance of the findings.

RESULTS

After controlling for baseline levels, results showed that (1) girls, but not boys, who reported more internalizing problems at T1 had lower well-being at T2; (2) girls and boys who reported more internalizing problems at T1 had lower-quality relationships with their mothers, fathers, and close friends at T2; and (3) boys, but not girls, who reported higher-quality friendships at T1 had higher well-being at T2. However, no significant indirect effects between internalizing problems and well-being via the quality of adolescents' relationships with their parents and close friends were detected.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study contributes to understanding internalizing problems as an important risk factor to the quality of adolescents' proximal social relationships (parents, friends) and their well-being. The findings support the importance of building high-quality relationships, particularly friendships, and recommend future research to study adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being including gender-specific examinations.

The dark side of empathy: Meta-analysis evidence of the relationship between empathy and depression

Regardless of a large amount of literature, whether empathy closely relates to depression is far from conclusive. The present study collected previous evidence and performed a meta-analysis to investigate the correlation between empathy and depression. By searching databases, 21 studies and 48 effect sizes were collected. Results showed that empathy was not correlated to depression (r = .006, p = .87). However, subgroup analyses showed that while the relationship between affective empathy and depression was significantly positively correlated (r = .108, p < .01), cognitive empathy was not (r = -.03, p = .26). Additionally, the relationship between empathy and depression varied during development, with a positive correlation in adolescence (r = .084, p < .01) and negative correlation in older adults (r = -.191, p < .001). Results implied that affective empathy might be one of the risk factors for depression, and higher affective empathy might mean more vulnerability to depression. Further studies would help by examining when and how this relationship builds, as well as the contributing factors of its development.

I Just Pulled Myself Together and Realised I had to be Responsible: Adolescents' Experiences of Having a Friend Who Self-Harms

Background

Self-harm usually begins during adolescence and adolescents that self-harm most commonly confide in friends, yet to date, there is little research from the friend's perspective.

Objective

This qualitative study explores adolescents' experiences of what it is like to have a friend who self-harms by cutting and what this experience means for friendship, the wider peer group and psychological well-being.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face with a community sample of eight females aged between 13 and 18 years, living in England. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse the data.

Results

Four superordinate themes emerged: desperately searching for meaning, I will be there at all costs, too hot to handle and identification. Adolescents were concerned about escalations in their friends' behaviours and felt a sense of duty to help, but the majority experienced a dilemma as to whether to disclose to others and all reported some form of distress.

Conclusions

The results highlight the important, yet complex nature of friendship in this context. Friends play a key role in supporting adolescents who self-harm but need greater support managing this role and the effects. Schools/colleges should educate young people about self-harm to increase their knowledge and skills in relation to supporting a friend with this issue. Furthermore, they should promote environments for talking about mental health openly to give young people increased opportunities for help-seeking.

The Developmental Trajectory of Empathy and Its Association with Early Symptoms of Psychopathology in Children with and without Hearing Loss

Empathy enables people to share, understand, and show concern for others’ emotions. However, this capacity may be more difficult to acquire for children with hearing loss, due to limited social access, and the effect of hearing on empathic maturation has been unexplored. This four-wave longitudinal study investigated the development of empathy in children with and without hearing loss, and how this development is associated with early symptoms of psychopathology. Seventy-one children with hearing loss and cochlear implants (CI), and 272 typically-hearing (TH) children, participated (aged 1–5 years at Time 1). Parents rated their children’s empathic skills (affective empathy, attention to others’ emotions, prosocial actions, and emotion acknowledgment) and psychopathological symptoms (internalizing and externalizing behaviors). Children with CI and TH children were rated similarly on most of the empathic skills. Yet, fewer prosocial actions were reported in children with CI than in TH children. In both groups, affective empathy decreased with age, while prosocial actions and emotion acknowledgment increased with age and stabilized when children entered primary schools. Attention to emotions increased with age in children with CI, yet remained stable in TH children. Moreover, higher levels of affective empathy, lower levels of emotion acknowledgment, and a larger increase in attention to emotions over time were associated with more psychopathological symptoms in both groups. These findings highlight the importance of social access from which children with CI can learn to process others’ emotions more adaptively. Notably, interventions for psychopathology that tackle empathic responses may be beneficial for both groups, alike.

Co-Rumination and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: Prospective Associations and the Mediating Role of Brooding Rumination

Although relationships between co-rumination and depressive symptoms have often been found, little research attention has been given to mechanisms underlying this association. The current study investigated brooding rumination as a mediator of the relationship between co-rumination and depressive symptoms. Analyses were performed on data of 1549 adolescents (53.4% girls; M_age = 12.93, range 9-17) using three waves of data with 1-year intervals. Mediated and indirect effects were investigated by means of cross-lagged analyses. The results indicated that co-rumination was not predictive of depressive symptoms 2 years later. However, co-rumination did have an indirect effect on prospective depressive symptoms through brooding rumination. Additional analyses looking into the directionality of effects showed that neither brooding rumination nor depressive symptoms were predictive of relative increases in one's tendency to co-ruminate. Multi-group analyses further showed that findings were not moderated by gender or age. The current study contributes to the growing literature on the role of interpersonal and intrapersonal affect-regulation styles in predicting depressive symptoms and suggests that passive and catastrophic problem talk with same-sex friends may get internalized into maladaptive and repetitive thinking patterns.

Kids helping kids: The lived experience of adolescents who support friends with mental health needs

PROBLEM

Adolescent mental health is a significant health care issue. Friends play an important role in the lives of adolescents with mental health concerns and help to improve outcomes related to depression and suicide. However, little is known about the experiences of adolescents who help their friends with these concerns.

METHODS

A phenomenological research design involving unstructured interviews was used to answer the question: what is the lived experience of adolescents who provide support to friends with anxiety, depression, or who express suicidal ideation?" Participants for this study were aged 16-17 and included both males (n = 2) and females (n = 3).

FINDINGS

Participants described their experience as "Kids Helping Kids" which is defined by the following themes: Being Fearful, Maintaining Vigilance, Seeking Knowledge, Keeping Secrets, Involving Others, Setting Boundaries, and Feeling Honored.

CONCLUSION

Helping a friend with mental health concerns can be challenging yet rewarding. Nurses should be aware of this role that some adolescents undertake and include the friends of adolescents with mental health concerns as part of plans of care.

Examining the Relation Between Adolescent Social Anxiety and Positive Affect Regulation: Self-Report vs. Observation

Social anxiety symptomatology is associated with disruptions in positive affect, though no study has examined deficits in responses to positive affect related to adolescent social anxiety symptoms. The present study tested whether adolescents' self-reported and observed social anxiety symptoms were uniquely associated with specific responses to positive affect. Moreover, we examined whether adolescent gender moderated these relations. Ninety adolescents (ages 11 to 18, M_age = 14.26, SD = 2.03; girls = 62%; white = 79%) completed self-report measures, participated in a social stressor task, and engaged in two positively-valenced interaction tasks with their female caregivers. Adolescent self-reported social anxiety symptoms were not uniquely associated with responses to positive affect. However, observed social anxiety symptoms were uniquely related to greater self-reported inhibiting positive affect responses and fewer observed positive affect maximizing behaviors. These findings highlight the need to examine self-reported and observed social anxiety symptoms in understanding associated disruptions in positive affect regulation.

Indicators of positive youth development can be maladaptive: The example case of caring

INTRODUCTION

Research on positive youth development typically takes a more-is-better approach in which higher scores on measures of positive youth development indicate better outcomes. We question the validity of this assumption and describe how an imbalance among the Five Cs of Positive Youth Development can lead to a situation where "more" is actually "less." We then provide an empirical illustration using cross-sectional data.

METHODS

We examined conditional associations between indicators of thriving and the C of caring using survey data obtained from a sample of 2,386 students in Norway (mean age 16.60 years [SD = 1.98]; 44.8% girls). Multilevel models assessed whether associations between caring and the thriving indicators (here defined as greater mental well-being and lower anxiety and depressive symptoms) differed when versus when not controlling for overall positive youth development.

RESULTS

When positive youth development was not included as a covariate, caring was positively associated with mental well being and anxiety but not significantly associated with depressive symptoms. After adding positive youth development to the model, caring became less strongly associated with mental well-being, more strongly associated with anxiety, and significantly (positively) associated with depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that, after controlling for a set level of positive youth development, caring does not predict adaptive outcomes in a monotonic more-is-better way. These findings illustrate an instance where developmental regulations benefit the context at the cost of the individual and therefore speak to a growing acknowledgement in the literature-young people may suffer if they "care too much."

When Does Co-Rumination Facilitate Depression Contagion in Adolescent Friendships? Investigating Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Factors

Research supports the notion that adolescents' mental health is impacted by peers via contagion processes. A growing area of interest has been how co-rumination may influence depressive symptoms within friendships. The current study examined particular conditions under which co-rumination is especially likely to facilitate depression contagion. Participants were adolescents (N = 480, 49% female, M age = 14.6 years, 59.5% European American) paired in friendship dyads and assessed over 9 months. Characteristics of the adolescent (personal distress), of the friend (excessive reassurance seeking), and of the friendship (friendship quality) were considered. Moderated mediation analyses indicated that co-rumination facilitated depression contagion only under conditions of adolescents' high personal distress, friends' high excessive reassurance seeking, and high positive friendship quality. This research underscores the importance of attending to how and under what conditions depression contagion occurs within friendships in order to support adolescents' positive social and emotional development.

Dispositional Perspective-Taking and Empathic Concern Modulate the Impact of Cognitive Load on Empathy for Facial Emotions

Meeting other people involves the importance to share their experiences and to understand their perspectives or, more simply, to empathize with them. Empathy research distinguishes two main dimensions of empathy, the affective sharing and the cognitive understanding. In the present study, we focus on the impact of cognitive load on empathy to pain, fear, happiness, and neutral facial emotions. Participants had to judge the intensity of the emotion when looking to facial expressions (empathize group), or with an additional eight-digit memory task (cognitive load group). While we assumed that cognitive load would reduce empathy, inconsistently with previous findings, our results did not show any significant effect of group. Interestingly, regression analyses showed that perspective-taking and empathic concern were positively related to pain, fear, and happiness ratings within the cognitive load group. These results reveal that when judging empathy under high cognitive load, dispositional empathic concern and perspective-taking could allow individuals to override the supposed deleterious cognitive load effect on empathy.

Low Mood Leads to Increased Empathic Distress at Seeing Others' Pain

Previous studies have shown changes in empathy in patients with depression, including an elevated level of trait personal distress. This study examined if low mood causes changes in self-reported empathic distress when seeing others in pain. To test this, we conducted an initial (n = 26) and close replication study (n = 46) in which sad mood was induced in healthy participants (overall mean age M = 21, SD = 5, range = 18–41 years). Participants viewed and rated video stimuli inferring pain experienced by other people. Results showed that participants perceived the videos depicting others’ pain (versus no-pain) to be more distressing under a sad mood compared to a neutral mood condition, implying that sadness enhances one’s emotional reactivity toward others’ distress. This supports previous depression literature suggesting an impaired emotional processing ability, and could contribute to some of the unhelpful behaviors seen in depression such as social withdrawal and avoidance.