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Matos M, McEwan K, Kanovský M, Halamová J, Steindl SR, Ferreira N, Linharelhos M, Rijo D, Asano K, Vilas SP, Márquez MG, Gregório S, Brito-Pons G, Lucena-Santos P, da Silva Oliveira M, de Souza EL, Llobenes L, Gumiy N, Costa MI, Habib N, Hakem R, Khrad H, Alzahrani A, Cheli S, Petrocchi N, Tholouli E, Issari P, Simos G, Lunding-Gregersen V, Elklit A, Kolts R, Kelly AC, Bortolon C, Delamillieure P, Paucsik M, Wahl JE, Zieba M, Zatorski M, Komendziński T, Zhang S, Basran J, Kagialis A, Kirby J, Gilbert P. Improvements in Compassion and Fears of Compassion throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multinational Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2023; 20:1845. [PMID: 36767212 PMCID: PMC9915071 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20031845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
During large-scale disasters, social support, caring behaviours, and compassion are shown to protect against poor mental health outcomes. This multi-national study aimed to assess the fluctuations in compassion over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents (Time 1 n = 4156, Time 2 n = 980, Time 3 n = 825) from 23 countries completed online self-report questionnaires measuring the flows of compassion (i.e., Compassionate Engagement and Action Scales) and fears of compassion toward self and others and from others (i.e., Fears of Compassion Scales) and mental health at three time-points during a 10-month period. The results for the flows of compassion showed that self-compassion increased at Time 3. Compassion for others increased at Time 2 and 3 for the general population, but in contrast, it decreased in health professionals, possibly linked to burnout. Compassion from others did not change in Time 2, but it did increase significantly in Time 3. For fears of compassion, fears of self-compassion reduced over time, fears of compassion for others showed more variation, reducing for the general public but increasing for health professionals, whilst fears of compassion from others did not change over time. Health professionals, those with compassion training, older adults, and women showed greater flows of compassion and lower fears of compassion compared with the general population, those without compassion training, younger adults, and men. These findings highlight that, in a period of shared suffering, people from multiple countries and nationalities show a cumulative improvement in compassion and reduction in fears of compassion, suggesting that, when there is intense suffering, people become more compassionate to self and others and less afraid of, and resistant to, compassion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Matos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Kirsten McEwan
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1G, UK
| | - Martin Kanovský
- Institute of Social Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Júlia Halamová
- Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Stanley R. Steindl
- Compassionate Mind Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
| | - Nuno Ferreira
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus
| | - Mariana Linharelhos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Daniel Rijo
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Kenichi Asano
- Department of Psychological Counseling, Faculty of Psychology, Mejiro University, Tokyo 161-0032, Japan
| | - Sara P. Vilas
- Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, 28670 Madrid, Spain
| | - Margarita G. Márquez
- Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, 28670 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sónia Gregório
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
- Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, 28670 Madrid, Spain
| | - Gonzalo Brito-Pons
- Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile
| | - Paola Lucena-Santos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Margareth da Silva Oliveira
- Evaluation and Treatment in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies—Research Group (GAAPCC), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90619-900, Brazil
| | | | | | - Natali Gumiy
- Motivación Compasiva, Buenos Aires C1001, Argentina
| | | | - Noor Habib
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah 11564, Saudi Arabia
| | - Reham Hakem
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah 11564, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hussain Khrad
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah 11564, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmad Alzahrani
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah 11564, Saudi Arabia
| | - Simone Cheli
- School of Human Health Sciences, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Nicola Petrocchi
- Department of Economics and Social Sciences, John Cabot University, 00165 Rome, Italy
| | - Elli Tholouli
- Center for Qualitative Research in Psychology and Psychosocial Well-Being, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 157 72 Athens, Greece
| | - Philia Issari
- Center for Qualitative Research in Psychology and Psychosocial Well-Being, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 157 72 Athens, Greece
| | - Gregoris Simos
- Department of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, 546 36 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Ask Elklit
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
| | - Russell Kolts
- Department of Psychology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA 99004, USA
| | - Allison C. Kelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Catherine Bortolon
- Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire de Psychologie: Personnalité, Cognition et Changement Social, Grenoble Alpes University, 38400 Grenoble, France
- Centre Hospitalier Alpes Isère, C3R—Réhabilitation Psychosociale et Remédiation Cognitive, 38100 Grenoble, France
| | - Pascal Delamillieure
- CHU de Caen, Service de Psychiatrie Adulte, 14000 Caen, France
- UNICAEN, ISTS, GIP Cyceron, University of Normandy, 76000 Caen, France
| | - Marine Paucsik
- Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire de Psychologie: Personnalité, Cognition et Changement Social, Grenoble Alpes University, 38400 Grenoble, France
| | - Julia E. Wahl
- The Mind Institute Poland, 33-332 Warsaw, Poland
- Institute of Psychology, Department of General Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Mariusz Zieba
- Institute of Psychology, Department of General Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Mateusz Zatorski
- Institute of Psychology, Department of General Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Tomasz Komendziński
- Department of Cognitive Science, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 87-100 Torún, Poland
- Neurocognitive Laboratory, Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 87-100 Torún, Poland
| | - Shuge Zhang
- School of Human Sciences, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1G, UK
| | - Jaskaran Basran
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1G, UK
| | - Antonios Kagialis
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus
| | - James Kirby
- Compassionate Mind Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
| | - Paul Gilbert
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1G, UK
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Matos M, McEwan K, Kanovský M, Halamová J, Steindl SR, Ferreira N, Linharelhos M, Rijo D, Asano K, Vilas SP, Márquez MG, Gregório S, Brito-Pons G, Lucena-Santos P, Oliveira MDS, de Souza EL, Llobenes L, Gumiy N, Costa MI, Habib N, Hakem R, Khrad H, Alzahrani A, Cheli S, Petrocchi N, Tholouli E, Issari P, Simos G, Lunding-Gregersen V, Elklit A, Kolts R, Kelly AC, Bortolon C, Delamillieure P, Paucsik M, Wahl JE, Zieba M, Zatorski M, Komendziński T, Zhang S, Basran J, Kagialis A, Kirby J, Gilbert P. The role of social connection on the experience of COVID-19 related post-traumatic growth and stress. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0261384. [PMID: 34910779 PMCID: PMC8673633 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Historically social connection has been an important way through which humans have coped with large-scale threatening events. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns have deprived people of major sources of social support and coping, with others representing threats. Hence, a major stressor during the pandemic has been a sense of social disconnection and loneliness. This study explores how people's experience of compassion and feeling socially safe and connected, in contrast to feeling socially disconnected, lonely and fearful of compassion, effects the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on post-traumatic growth and post-traumatic stress. METHODS Adult participants from the general population (N = 4057) across 21 countries worldwide, completed self-report measures of social connection (compassion for self, from others, for others; social safeness), social disconnection (fears of compassion for self, from others, for others; loneliness), perceived threat of COVID-19, post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress. RESULTS Perceived threat of COVID-19 predicted increased post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress. Social connection (compassion and social safeness) predicted higher post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress, whereas social disconnection (fears of compassion and loneliness) predicted increased traumatic symptoms only. Social connection heightened the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on post-traumatic growth, while social disconnection weakened this impact. Social disconnection magnified the impact of the perceived threat of COVID-19 on traumatic stress. These effects were consistent across all countries. CONCLUSIONS Social connection is key to how people adapt and cope with the worldwide COVID-19 crisis and may facilitate post-traumatic growth in the context of the threat experienced during the pandemic. In contrast, social disconnection increases vulnerability to develop post-traumatic stress in this threatening context. Public health and Government organizations could implement interventions to foster compassion and feelings of social safeness and reduce experiences of social disconnection, thus promoting growth, resilience and mental wellbeing during and following the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Matos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Kirsten McEwan
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Kanovský
- Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Institute of Social Anthropology, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Júlia Halamová
- Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Institute of Applied Psychology, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Stanley R. Steindl
- Compassionate Mind Research Group, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Nuno Ferreira
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Mariana Linharelhos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Daniel Rijo
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Kenichi Asano
- Department of Psychological Counseling, Faculty of Psychology, Mejiro University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Sara P. Vilas
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Margarita G. Márquez
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sónia Gregório
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Coimbra, Portugal
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gonzalo Brito-Pons
- Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Paola Lucena-Santos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Margareth da Silva Oliveira
- Evaluation and Treatment in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies—Research Group (GAAPCC), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | - Noor Habib
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Reham Hakem
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hussain Khrad
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmad Alzahrani
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Simone Cheli
- School of Human Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Nicola Petrocchi
- Department of Economics and Social Sciences, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy
| | - Elli Tholouli
- Center for Qualitative Research in Psychology and Psychosocial Well-being, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Philia Issari
- Center for Qualitative Research in Psychology and Psychosocial Well-being, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Gregoris Simos
- Department of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Ask Elklit
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Russell Kolts
- Department of Psychology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA, United States of America
| | - Allison C. Kelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
| | - Catherine Bortolon
- Laboratoire Inter-universitaire de Psychologie: Personnalité, Cognition et Changement Social, Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France
- Centre Hospitalier Alpes Isère, C3R - Réhabilitation psychosociale et remédiation cognitive, Grenoble, France
| | - Pascal Delamillieure
- CHU de Caen, Service de Psychiatrie Adulte, Caen, France
- UNICAEN, ISTS, GIP Cyceron, University of Normandy, Caen, France
| | - Marine Paucsik
- Laboratoire Inter-universitaire de Psychologie: Personnalité, Cognition et Changement Social, Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France
| | - Julia E. Wahl
- The Mind Institute Poland, Warsaw, Poland
- SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw & Poznań, Poland
| | - Mariusz Zieba
- SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw & Poznań, Poland
| | - Mateusz Zatorski
- SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw & Poznań, Poland
| | - Tomasz Komendziński
- Department of Cognitive Science, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torún, Poland
- Neurocognitive Laboratory, Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torún, Poland
| | - Shuge Zhang
- School of Human Sciences, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom
| | - Jaskaran Basran
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom
| | - Antonios Kagialis
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - James Kirby
- Compassionate Mind Research Group, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Paul Gilbert
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom
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3
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Matos M, McEwan K, Kanovský M, Halamová J, Steindl SR, Ferreira N, Linharelhos M, Rijo D, Asano K, Gregório S, Márquez MG, Vilas SP, Brito-Pons G, Lucena-Santos P, da Silva Oliveira M, de Souza EL, Llobenes L, Gumiy N, Costa MI, Habib N, Hakem R, Khrad H, Alzahrani A, Cheli S, Petrocchi N, Tholouli E, Issari P, Simos G, Lunding-Gregersen V, Elklit A, Kolts R, Kelly AC, Bortolon C, Delamillieure P, Paucsik M, Wahl JE, Zieba M, Zatorski M, Komendziński T, Zhang S, Basran J, Kagialis A, Kirby J, Gilbert P. Fears of compassion magnify the harmful effects of threat of COVID-19 on mental health and social safeness across 21 countries. Clin Psychol Psychother 2021; 28:1317-1333. [PMID: 33880832 PMCID: PMC8251194 DOI: 10.1002/cpp.2601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Background The COVID‐19 pandemic is a massive global health crisis with damaging consequences to mental health and social relationships. Exploring factors that may heighten or buffer the risk of mental health problems in this context is thus critical. Whilst compassion may be a protective factor, in contrast fears of compassion increase vulnerability to psychosocial distress and may amplify the impact of the pandemic on mental health. This study explores the magnifying effects of fears of compassion on the impact of perceived threat of COVID‐19 on depression, anxiety and stress, and social safeness. Methods Adult participants from the general population (N = 4057) were recruited across 21 countries worldwide, and completed self‐report measures of perceived threat of COVID‐19, fears of compassion (for self, from others, for others), depression, anxiety, stress and social safeness. Results Perceived threat of COVID‐19 predicted increased depression, anxiety and stress. The three flows of fears of compassion predicted higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress and lower social safeness. All fears of compassion moderated (heightened) the impact of perceived threat of COVID‐19 on psychological distress. Only fears of compassion from others moderated the effects of likelihood of contracting COVID‐19 on social safeness. These effects were consistent across all countries. Conclusions Fears of compassion have a universal magnifying effect on the damaging impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on mental health and social safeness. Compassion focused interventions and communications could be implemented to reduce resistances to compassion and promote mental wellbeing during and following the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Matos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Kirsten McEwan
- College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, Derby, UK
| | - Martin Kanovský
- Institute of Social Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Júlia Halamová
- Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Stanley R Steindl
- School of Psychology, Compassionate Mind Research Group, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Nuno Ferreira
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Mariana Linharelhos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Daniel Rijo
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Kenichi Asano
- Department of Psychological Counseling, Faculty of Psychology, Mejiro University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Sónia Gregório
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Coimbra, Portugal.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Margarita G Márquez
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sara P Vilas
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gonzalo Brito-Pons
- Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Paola Lucena-Santos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Margareth da Silva Oliveira
- Evaluation and Treatment in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies-Research Group (GAAPCC), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | - Noor Habib
- Neuroscience Department, section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Reham Hakem
- Neuroscience Department, section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hussain Khrad
- Neuroscience Department, section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmad Alzahrani
- Neuroscience Department, section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Simone Cheli
- School of Human Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Nicola Petrocchi
- Department of Economics and Social Sciences, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy
| | - Elli Tholouli
- Center for Qualitative Research in Psychology and Psychosocial Well-being, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Philia Issari
- Center for Qualitative Research in Psychology and Psychosocial Well-being, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Gregoris Simos
- Department of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Ask Elklit
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Russell Kolts
- Department of Psychology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, Washington, USA
| | - Allison C Kelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Catherine Bortolon
- Laboratoire Inter-universitaire de Psychologie : Personnalité, Cognition et Changement Social, Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France.,C3R-Réhabilitation Psychosociale et Remédiation Cognitive, Centre Hospitalier Alpes Isère, Grenoble, France
| | - Pascal Delamillieure
- Service de Psychiatrie Adulte, CHU de Caen, Caen, France.,UNICAEN, ISTS, GIP Cyceron, University of Normandy, Caen, France
| | - Marine Paucsik
- Laboratoire Inter-universitaire de Psychologie : Personnalité, Cognition et Changement Social, Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France
| | - Julia E Wahl
- The Mind Institute Poland, Warsaw, Poland.,SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw& Poznań, Poland
| | - Mariusz Zieba
- SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw& Poznań, Poland
| | - Mateusz Zatorski
- SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw& Poznań, Poland
| | - Tomasz Komendziński
- Department of Cognitive Science, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torún, Poland.,Neurocognitive Laboratory, Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torún, Poland
| | - Shuge Zhang
- School of Human Sciences, University of Derby, Derby, UK
| | - Jaskaran Basran
- College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, Derby, UK
| | - Antonios Kagialis
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - James Kirby
- School of Psychology, Compassionate Mind Research Group, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Paul Gilbert
- College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, Derby, UK
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4
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Vilas SP, Reniers RLEP, Ludlow AK. An Investigation of Behavioural and Self-Reported Cognitive Empathy Deficits in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Adolescents With Behavioural Difficulties. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:717877. [PMID: 34975557 PMCID: PMC8719354 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.717877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Deficits in empathy have been considered hallmarks in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) but are also considered to underlie antisocial behaviour associated with individuals with callous unemotional traits (CU). Research has suggested that individuals with autism spectrum disorders show more difficulties with cognitive empathy, and that individuals diagnosed with behaviours difficulties, characterised by CU traits and antisocial behaviour, demonstrate low affective empathy. In the current manuscript we present findings of two studies. The first study describes the validation of a new stimulus set developed for the empathic accuracy task, focused on its cognitive component. The second study compares the performance of 27 adolescents with ASD, 27 age matched typically developing adolescents and 17 adolescents with behavioural difficulties on the empathic accuracy task and a self-report measure of empathy. While, no differences were observed between the three groups across the empathy accuracy task, the adolescents with ASD and CD showed deficits in their cognitive empathy across the self-report measure. Adolescents with ASD showed lower scores in particularly their perspective taking abilities, whereas the adolescences with behavioural difficulties showed more difficulties with their online simulation. No differences in self-reported affective empathy across the three groups were observed. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara P Vilas
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Renate L E P Reniers
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.,Institute of Clinical Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.,Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Amanda K Ludlow
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.,School of Psychology, Sports and Geography, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom
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